Matryoshka!
by Seishun Vibration
Summary: The esteemed Vocaloid mansion was gaining a new resident and idol, Megpoid Gumi. To everyone's surprise, and to her extreme annoyance, it would seem that a certain teal haired girl had taken interest in her...    *Prequel to "Slice of Life"*
1. Allow Me to Introduce Myself Or Not

**Matryoshka**

**Chapter 1 – Allow Me to Introduce Myself—Or Not**

I've been toying around with the idea for this story for a while now… Actually, I've been thinking about it since I wrote the chapter "Matryoshka" for _Slice of Life_. xD; And the idea had really been floating around my head a lot more frequently, especially since the explosion of reviews from _SoL_!

Anyway, let's go!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the Vocaloids. Only this ridiculous story.

* * *

><p>"Kaito-nii-san! Did you hear! We're getting a new house mate!"<p>

"Yeah, I heard. She's supposed to be pretty talented."

"DUH! She's gonna be a Vocaloid! Of course she's talented!"

"Nee-chan, don't be rude—"

"Shut up, Len! Anyway, like I was sayin'… I heard she's pretty, too! Miku-nee! Aren't you excited?"

Silence.

"Miku-nee?"

"Ah, _gomen ne_! I was just thinking," the tealette apologized, as her lips curved up into a smile. The pop idol was lazily sprawled out along the couch, an arm draped over her eyes. Her long teal hair, which was normally tied up into twin tails, was currently tied up into a loose ponytail. It hung loosely, close to the nape of her neck, and tied by a white ribbon. "But yes, I heard about her. She seems… Interesting."

The blonde twins popped up behind the couch, their blue eyes bright with curiosity. Len blew his messy bangs away from his eyes before he looked back down at the teal haired idol. "'Interesting'?" he repeated, clearly puzzled by Miku's choice of words. "How?"

"Yeah, Miku-nee! We haven't met her yet!" the older twin jumped in, as she threw her arms up in the air. "You don't know if she's interesting or not! She could be a boring person!"

"I know, but that's why I think she's intereting, Rin-chan," Miku explained, her smile only widening. "There's so much to find out about her."

Kaito shook his mop of blue hair, turning his deep eyes away from the trio. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his khaki pants and shrugged his shoulders at the group. "Miku-chan is an odd person," he explained to the twins. "She was always like this. Especially since we were little," he laughed, and shook his head once more. "That's something that'll never change."

Miku giggled, and peeked one teal eye out from beneath the shade that her arm provided. "Ne, ne, Nii-san. I can't help it if the unknown is an interesting topic," she continued to give the others that unreadable smile. "This Gumi girl.. I'm sure she'll be interesting. Very interesting."

"But people, Miku-nee?" The blonde girl asked, as she swept her bangs out from her face and tucked away a lock of the golden hair behind one eye. Hearing Miku speak like this was a new concept to her. Normally Miku would be quick to explain her thoughts. But... It was as if Miku were keeping a secret to herself. "Interesting? I just want her to be fun..."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be a fun person to be around," Miku amended. "But really, this will be interesting."

"You think people are interesting?" Rin repeated in disbelief.

"{eople are especially interesting."

* * *

><p>"<em>What did I get myself into?"<em> was the running thought that went through her mind, and had been stuck on repeat for the past week. It had become something of a mantra for her, as she packed her things to move into the mansion. While packing, she rejoiced that she was finally escaping her parents. Moving into a house with other singers, music _idols_ at that, was a huge milestone in her life.

But now that she was here…

She almost wished she had never auditioned to join the group.  
>The famous Vocaloids.<p>

The fact that the group were an internationally known lot was not what bothered the girl the most. What really bothered her were the thoughts of how they may be in person. According to the magazines, the group were amiable enough. Or, rather, they were adored by the fans, seemingly fitting the wants and needs of their fan base.

The Kagamine twins, known for their duets and their own solo songs. Rin was the energetic, spunky, reckless girl, who single-handedly captured the hearts of many with her wild antics and surprising songs. Len, the younger twin, was the adorable, baby-faced boy. Like his older sister, he easily settled into the hearts of his fans due to his boyishly good looks and his more timid nature (at least, when compared to Rin. The boy himself did have a mischievous streak, if the popular magazines were to believed).  
>Yellow and orange.<p>

Furukawa Miki, polite and ever pleasant, an ideal role model for teenaged girls. Her songs were normally intense in meaning, and her child like face was quite adorable. And the girl was known to be a tad on the timid side, which made her popularity sky rocket. Something that her fans called a "moe" factor? Whatever that was…  
>At least Miki seemed normal compared to some of the others..<br>A pleasant mix of red and pink.

Shion Kaito, the resident blue-haired male of the mansion. He was known, like Len, for having a boyishly handsome face, and stunning deep blue eyes. It was easy to see why many girls had gone crazy over him. He was incredibly good looking, but to the girl, he looked like an idiot. After all, what kind of self-respecting man would produce a song about the joys of _ice-cream_? There must have been something wrong with him if that was a song he would willingly sing.  
>Blue.<p>

Sakine Meiko. The oldest female resident of the mansion, was known to be a drunken idiot. At least, that's how the girl saw the brunette singer. While, admittedly, Meiko was quite an attractive woman, the tendencies of this Vocaloid to get caught drinking was something that the girl did not admire. True, Meiko was quite a looker…. But drinking… The girl couldn't get over the fact that Meiko drank so damn much.  
>Dark red.<p>

Megurine Luka, the pink haired beauty. Needless to say, she was just as talented as the other Vocaloids. In her eyes, Luka was easily one of the most impressive of the group. Not only could she sing amazingly well in Japanese, but her English itself was impressive. The pinkette was able to sing near flawlessly in English, something that the girl had always admired about the pinkette. And not to mention how incredibly good-looking Luka was… She may be younger than Meiko, but geez, the pink haired girl could give the brunette a good run for her money.  
>Pink.<p>

Kamui Gakupo. Someone she was intimately familiar with. After all, the girl was the younger cousin of Gakupo. They may not have spoken to each other since he had first joined the Vocaloid group, but the girl was sure that her older cousin would still be the same mature, gentleman like person that he had always been. His hair had become much longer, and the rumors surrounding him and a certain pinkette were something of a mild interest to the girl. Her cousin? Dating the Megurine Luka?  
>Impossible.<br>He was simply too much of an idiot to be Megurine Luka's type, the girl had reasoned. Sure, her elder cousin may be intelligent, but her mind could not wrap around the idea of the two of them being an item.  
>Purple.<p>

And finally… The most famous, and by far, the most popular Vocaloid.  
>Hatsune Miku.<br>A scowl made its way onto the girls face as she thought about the tealette. She had known Miku for a little while in high school, that is, until Miku left to become a singer. Not that she would hold it against the teal idol. Fame and fortune over three more boring years of high school in a city in Japan?  
>She would pick the fame and fortune over school anyday.<br>But the teal girl. Something about Miku's pop idol image irritated her to no end. She knew there was more to the teal girl than those pop tunes, and adorable faces that she would make for the magazine covers. Or maybe Miku had changed. Maybe she was no longer the quiet girl that she had once been in school. Maybe Miku no longer needed her to help her with everything like she had in school. Maybe Miku really was outgoing and cheerful; a perfect example of the perfect teenaged girl.  
>The girl only hoped that she would have to put up with Miku sparingly, if this were the case. She was not a fan of overly happy, excited people.<br>Teal.

So where did that leave her?  
>Megpoid Gumi?<br>Would she be able to deal with these sorts of people; neurotic twins, an idiot, a _drunken_ idiot, a gentleman, a princess-like girl, and an adorable pop queen?

She could only hope that she could even last a month would these people before wanting to snap someone's neck.

With a shake of her short, green hair, she began to walk up the stairs leading to the obscenely large ornate doors of the mansion. Her emerald eyes narrowed at the sight. Why did the doors have to be so big? Were they all just trying to boast about how much money they had?  
>How ridiculous.<p>

* * *

><p>A knock came from the large, oak doors, which was quickly followed by the ringing of the doorbell. The sound echoed throughout the house, until the mansion went into a complete uproar.<p>

"SHE'S HERE!" the twins chorused, as they rode down the banisters of the staircase. Simultaneously, they leapt off and landed on their feet, and took off running towards the front door. It was easy for the two to sync their movements, and it was something that the residents of the mansion had gotten used to. At first it was strange to see the twins so completely in sync, but it soon became the norm. "SHE'S HERE! GUMI-NEE IS HEEEERRREE!"

"Careful!" Furukawa Miki shouted, as she ran after the twins. "Please don't scare her! I don't want our new house mate to feel isolated—RIN-CHAN! DON'T TACKLE LEN-KUN BECAUSE HE WAS BEATING YOU TO THE DOOR!"

Trailing behind them at a leisurely pace was Megurine Luka. She swept her pink hair over her shoulder with a flick of her wrist and watched the yellow bullets speed off with an amused twinkle in her light blue eyes. "Ah, Megpoid Gumi, was it?" she asked her companion, the tall purple haired man. "Isn't she a relative of yours, Gakupo-san?"

The taller boy nodded, and smiled down at his friend. "Yes, she is," he answered. "My younger cousin, actually. I hadn't seen her in years. I was surprised to find out that she even auditioned to join us… I didn't think she would actually pursue a career in music."

"Really!" Kaito interrupted, as he threw his arms around Luka and Gakupo's shoulders. "I bet she's a looker, seeing how you're kinda girly looking, anyway, Gakupo-kuuuun!"

Gakupo twitched, and shook his head at the blue boy. "I didn't know Miku-chan was your cousin when I first met the two of you," he rebutted. "So why should it be surprising to see that I have a talented cousin as well?"

"That's not what I was saying," Kaito pouted up at the taller boy. "I was saying she's good looking, not talented."

"I don't want you to molest my cousin."

"I won't, I have Mei-chan for that!" Kaito cheekily gave Gakupo a thumbs up. "She's my girlfriend, after all!"

At this, the brunette that had been walking beside Luka snorted. "You only call me your girlfriend when you want something," she grumbled, as she folded her arms across her chest. "Otherwise you act as if I never existed. Pig."

"Eh! But I love you!" Kaito released Luka and Gakupo from his grasp and went to embrace his girlfriend. Meiko was quick to dodge the hug, and even went as far as to thrust an elbow into his back. When the blue haired boy landed on the tiled floor with a thud, the brunette walked away, a smirk on her face.

Both Luka and Gakupo shook their heads at the exchange. Only the pinkette stopped to extend a hand out to the blue haired boy. "Are you alright-?"

Kaito waved her hand away, and jumped up to his feet. "It's okay, Luka-san! I can handle Mei-chan myself!" He declared, as he rushed after his girlfriend.

The group came to a halt and looked at the girl who was already leaning against the large doors.  
>The teal idol had been patiently waiting for the others to gather round before she opened the door. "Ah, we mustn't keep her waiting, ne?" Miku smiled, as she reached for the doorknob.<p>

Grinning from ear to ear, the twins stared at the door in anticipation.  
>Meiko had her arms folded across her chest, determined to ignore the blue haired boy that was clinging to her desperately.<br>The pink haired _hime-sama_ had a warm smile on her face, ready to make their new house mate feel as welcomed as possible.  
>Gakupo put his thumbs into the front pockets of his white skinnies. He was merely excited to see his cousin once again.<p>

And Miku? Her smile may have been brilliant but it was impossible for the others to even fathom what may have been running through her mind.  
>She pulled both of the doors opened. "Welcome—Gumi-chan!" Her normally unreadable expression was wiped off of her face in an instant.<p>

Before her stood the girl with short green hair, a ghost from her past. The scene was so familiar. When she had still lived in the city with her parents, it was not uncommon for this girl to show up at the door of their home with a duffel bag in hand, intent on spending the night.  
>And it was as if her high school friend hadn't changed. The most dramatic difference was that the long hair that Gumi had had when they first met was gone. Instead of it going down to her waist, the green locks were short, with longer strands framing her face.<br>It was clear, though, that Gumi still appreciated being as comfortable as possible. Her attire was simple. Dark denim skinny jeans, an over-sized orange hoodie, orange high-top Converses and a pair of red-orange goggles on her head… The corners of Miku's mouth twitched into a smile at the sight of the familiar outfit. It was as if things had never changed.

Gumi looked at Miku apprehensively. She swung the duffel bag over one shoulder, and adjusted the backpack that was strapped to her back. "What?" she snapped, suddenly on the defensive. "Why're you looking at me like that, Miku?"  
>Why was she getting defensive? Of course it was only natural for her old friend to look her over. But those teal eyes… It seemed as if they were dissecting her.<p>

The other Vocaloids exchanged surprised looks.  
>Miku <em>knew<em> Gumi?  
>Why hadn't Miku said something before?<p>

"Nothing, nothing, Gumi-chan!" Miku laughed, as she waved a hand to dismiss the green girl's questions. "I was just surprised, that's all. I didn't realize that when they said a Gumi was moving in, you would be that Gumi."

"It's not a common name."

"I know that."

"Then who else could the name 'Gumi' have been referring to? You must've seen a picture of me or _something._"

"You're right, I did see a picture. But I was thinking… Maybe there's another Megpoid Gumi with green hair here in Japan."

"I doubt that."

"You never know!"

"Ugh, shut up. I knew you'd end up being an annoying brat now…"

"I'm glad I was able to meet your expectations!"

"… I have the feeling that you will never leave me alone."

"You're right! Wow, Gumi-chan! You're as smart as ever!"

"Just shut up."

"Ne, ne, that's not a very nice way of asking someone to stop talking!"

The other Vocaloids looked at one another, wondering if things really would be okay with this new addition. They glanced back at Gumi and Miku.

Gumi was glaring at Miku, her emerald eyes slits.  
>Miku was simply grinning, rocking to and fro from her heels to the balls of her feet. Suddenly, she launched herself at the green haired girl, locking her in a tight embrace.<p>

"Get. Off."

"I missed you, Gumi-chan!"

"Let go."

"It's been ages!"

"Just let go—"

"I LOVE YOU!"

"SHUT UP!"

More glances were exchanged amongst the others.  
>Things were going to get interesting around the mansion.<p>

* * *

><p>The twins and red haired girl sat on the floor, gathered around in a semi-circle. The room was empty, save for the large bed placed in the corner of the room, a dresser with a mirror, and a bedside table. Other than this, and a few of the bags that Gumi had brought along, it was a bare room.<p>

"Do you need any help unpacking, Megpoid-san?" Miki asked, as she put her hands down on the floor. She was about to stand up when Gumi shook her head no.

"It's fine, I got it," Gumi said quickly, as she unzipped the duffel bag. "Thanks, though."

"Oh, you're very welcome—"

"HEY! GUMI-NEE!" Rin shouted, as she laid out on her back. "Do you have a boyfriend!"

Len didn't know whether or not to be embarrassed, or laugh at his twin's antics.

Miki's mouth hung open and she quickly shook her head. "Rin-chan!" she reprimanded the younger girl. "You shouldn't call her by her first name, we just met—"

"It's fine, Miki-chan," Gumi sighed, as continued to pull her clothes out from the bag. "I don't care if she calls me by my name."

"O-oh… Then, may I call you Gumi-nee—"

"Yeah."

"GUMI-NEE! ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

Gumi felt her eye twitch. If the blonde girl was going to be like this all of the time, Gumi might just end up strangling her. "No, Rin-chan, I don't have a boyfriend," she answered curtly. She picked up a stack of clothes and crossed the room. With one hand, she opened the door to the closet and went inside. To her dismay, the older twin had decided to follow her.

"Really!" Rin exclaimed, as she plopped down onto the floor of the closet. "But you're so pretty! I bet you'd be really popular with guys and stuff!"

Gumi shrugged and looked at the available closet space, wondering how she should organize her belongings.

"Or maybe even girls!"

Gumi nearly dropped the stack of clothes in her arms. "_What?"_

A gasp.  
>"Maybe you have a <em>girlfriend<em> instead of a _boyfriend_?"

Snickering came from outside of the closet. Len couldn't help himself. He had been waiting for his sister to spit the statement out. Beside him, Miki groaned, and hid her face with her hands.  
>"I told Rin-chan not to say that, too," she whined to Len.<p>

Len shrugged. "You know how she can get."

_SLAP._

Len and Miki exchanged mixed looks before they bolted into the closet to check on Gumi and Rin.

"IS THIS REALLY THE KID THAT SAID SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Gumi roared, as she sat on the blonde's stomach and pulled at Rin's cheeks. Her face was red, and her eyes seemed ablaze with fury.

Rin whined and tried to pry Gumi's hands off of her face. "I WAS KIDDING! KIDDING!" she laughed cheekily, unable to contain herself.

"WHAT KIND OF KID ASKS THINGS LIKE THAT RIGHT AFTER MEETING SOMEONE?"

"GUMI-NEE! THIS HURTS!"

"SHUT UP! YOU CHEEKY LITTLE KID! APOLOGIZE! AT ONCE!"

Len only laughed and walked out of the closet. His sister had it coming, after asking something like that.  
>Miki under the door way, her head in one hand. She shook her head, and shut her eyes. "Oh, Rin-chan…"<p>

* * *

><p>The teal girl went back to her usual resting place, the couch in the library. The tranquil room allowed her to think, since the other residents normally ignored this room, save for Megurine Luka.<p>

At least now she could collect her thoughts. It had been quite a shock for her to see a ghost from her past. Afterall, it had been ages since she had visited her home town. Of course, her parents were understanding. Her musical career had skyrocketed to new heights, and her manager managed to keep her busy...  
>But still. Gumi? Here?<p>

"Interesting indeed," she giggled to herself, as she shut her teal eyes. From what she had gathered, Gumi was still the same short-tempered girl she had met back then. And if Gumi really hadn't changed, then Miku was sure she would have a lot of fun with their ridiculous banters.  
>After all, her and Gumi had argued over something as simple as a hug in front of the other Vocaloids.<p>

The corners of her lips twitched back into that non-smile. Things were certainly going to be interesting around the house now that she had a new plaything.

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> Ahh, short short short short short chapter! But really, this chapter is more of an introduction for the rest of the story. :P I apologize that it is a rather quick read, though. I wanted to add more to it, but I think this was a good place to end the chapter.

Really, it's purpose is to give you a general feel to the characters if you haven't been exposed to them through "Slice of Life".

Ah, well. I hope you enjoyed chapter 1! I'll try to be quick about updating this story, along with "SoL".

See you in the next chapter! (:


	2. Remote Control

**Matryoshka!**

**Chapter 2 – Remote Control**

Ah, chapter 2. :P I must admit, it's interesting to try and write two stories at the same time. But I do like the challenge!  
>At any rate, this is where the story will really begin to take off. Now that character introductions are all out of the way, I feel like things can only get better from here!<p>

Also. I don't know if anyone noticed.. But I changed the title for this story at least 3 times over the past 24 hours. hahaha. Whoops. But I finally settled on "Matryoshka!"

Anyway.

Story time.

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I don't own any Vocaloids. Only this story.

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><p><em>Tap, tap, tap. Tap, t-tap, tap.<br>Tap, tap, tap. Tap, t-tap, tap._

Her movements were completely in sync with the Japanese pop song. A look of intense focus was on her face as she danced across the metallic dance pad. The flashing lights above the display screen for the game failed to distract her. The music was just something too engaging to be distracted from; and it was easy for the girl to tap the correct arrows on time.

_Perfect!  
>Perfect!<br>Perfect!_

The screen flashed that same word over and over again.  
>330 times, to be exact.<p>

When the song ended, Furukawa Miki stepped down from the metal platform. Her breathing was erratic, and she was having some difficulty catching her breath. It was no easy matter to play through an entire game of DDR on the expert and challenge difficulties. She wiped away the sweat from her brow with the face towel that she had brought with her from her bedroom. Her cherry red hair had been pulled up into a high ponytail, with her bangs pinned to the side as to stay out of her way.

She tapped the flashing green buttons on the monitor. She needed a break. Playing those ridiculous songs, like Max 300, was killer.

And so, she set the game up for her to play a round of doubles on difficult.  
>"Something easy, something easy," Miki mumbled to herself, as she scrolled through the song list.<p>

"Easy?" a voice said from behind her, with disbelief and utter respect. "What you did was fucking ridiculous, and you think playing doubles on difficult would be _easy?"_

Miki jumped, and she twirled around on the heels of her red high-top Converses. "Ah—G-Gumi-nee!" she said, as she leaned back against the DDR Machine. One hand was over her heart as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Y-you scared me…"

"Sorry," Gumi apologized as she shoved both arms into the pouch of her oversized orange hoodie. "I thought I'd spend my second day here exploring the mansion. The twins told me that there was an entertainment room that everyone shared, so I figured I might as well check it out."

The redhead nodded slowly, her antennae bouncing on top of her head. "Oh, I see," she exhaled. "Ah, well… I hope you like the room so far—"

"I like it. It's pretty neat."

"R-right." Miki offered the green haired girl a timid smile. "I like to come here after a stressful day. Normally I just play DDR, but sometimes I'll watch a movie." She pointed past Gumi at a closed door. "In there is a home theatre area. I watch my movies in there, usually, since the TV—" she then pointed at the obscenely large plasma TV that was mounted on one wall. "Is usually taken by the twins, since they play a lot of video games."

Gumi nodded as she processed this information. So it would seem like this place would be popular with the younger members. Her emerald eyes looked around the room once more. Yeah. It's obvious why… The room was equipped with the latest and greatest equipment in the technological world. "You said the twins like video games, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And you like playing DDR and watching movies, right?"

"Yes."

"What does Miku do when she comes in here?"

"Ah—Well, that is—" Miki was surprised to hear Gumi ask about the tealette, especially since Gumi had left out any sort of honorific to tag onto Miku's name. "She usually plays video games with the twins." She paused and looked up at the ceiling as she went on. "If she doesn't do that, she'll watch a movie or play DDR with me.. But…"

Gumi raised a brow, waiting for Miki to continue.

"But, if no one else is in here, she watches TV," the redhead finished, as she patted the towel against her sweat-glazed neck. "Those days are usually when she's the only one that didn't have to go to the studio to do a recording, or go out to do some promotional shooting.. You know, work related things. When she's the only one home, she comes in here, lays down on the couch, and watches random things on TV." Her red eyes met green. "But, ah, she tries to avoid coming in here when no one else is in here. I think she only likes this room when there's noise."

The green haired girl snorted at this. "She's as weird as I remember her being," she shrugged, and stepped towards the dance machine. She pulled her arms out from the hoodie pouch, and leaned them against the red support beam attached to the metal platforms. "But that's Miku for you. She has lazy ass days where she sits and does nothing if no one's around to keep her entertained."

Miki smiled a little bit, eager to hear more about the teal haired girl's history with Gumi. "Ah, really? So she's always been like that?" she asked, as she hopped onto the platform to play the first doubles song.

"Yeah, that's how I remember her being," Gumi replied. She cupped her cheek in one hand, and watched as Miki began to effortlessly dance across the pad in time with the song. "If you just leave her alone for a day, she'd probably sleep thorough the day without any worries." The girl rolled her eyes. "But if she knows people are around, she'll find some way to get them to keep her entertained. I'm surprised that she'd just settle for video games and movies, though."

A laugh escaped the dancing girl. "Oh, Gumi-nee," she sang. "It sounds as if you've lived here with us this entire time!"

"What?"

"You're right, Miku-chan likes to have everyone else keep her entertained," Miki explained. "But she doesn't ask us to do crazy things, or anything like that. She… She likes to observe. I guess you could say that she's a people watcher…"

"Observe…?"

"Yes," Miki nodded. "She kind of just sits there and watches. And smiles a lot." She shrugged her shoulders and continued to dance. "But it's not weird or anything. I think she's just happy with us being around her. I think she just gets lonely really easily."

Now it was Gumi's turn to laugh. "No kidding! She's _always_ been like that!" The green haired girl grinned. "She used to cling to me all of the time when we were in school together!"  
>It was true. When Gumi had first met Miku, Miku was extremely shy. It was almost immediately that the teal haired girl attached herself to the snarky green haired girl.<p>

The song ended, and Miki spun around on her heels to look at Gumi. A wide grin was on her face. "Ah, really! I didn't think Miku-nee would be like that!"

"Seriously, the chick never left me alone. She almost followed me into the same bathroom stall at one point, 'cause some girls wouldn't quit harassing her about her audition to be CV01."

Miki covered her mouth with one hand and giggled. "Aw, that's so cute! She must have really liked you!"

"No. She just needed someone to bother was all," Gumi corrected.

"But it sounds like you two were close… Not like she was bothering you."

"Same thing."

Miki stared at Gumi, unable to comprehend the green haired girl's reasoning. It was beyond her to understand how any of that could have possibly led to Miku being an annoyance. Miku was never annoying… Not to her, anyway. She loved the older girl, and looked up to the tealette as a sort of older sister figure. So how could Miku have possibly annoyed Gumi so much?

"Ano.. Gumi-nee? Are you just saying that because you're upset with Miku-nee?" She asked, her back facing the older girl. Her finger was pressed against the yellow arrow of the dance machine as she searched for a new song to dance to.

"Something like that."

Miki tapped the select button, and stepped back onto the metal pad. "And may I ask why you're upset with her?"

"Because she didn't say good-bye before she left."

Ah, so that's what it was.  
>Miki stepped onto the corresponding arrows, the smile back on her face. Gumi only wanted a goodbye from the teal girl. "I'm sure she had her reasons for not wanting to say goodbye to you," she said, as she tapped away on the arrows.<p>

"Yeah, well, I still think a 'Hey, Gumi, I'm leaving to become rich and famous because I know how to sing' would have sufficed."

Miki laughed and glanced over at the other girl from over her shoulder. She didn't really need to look at the arrows. She was playing one of her favorite songs, and the movements had become second nature to her. "Miku-nee isn't the type to cry in front of others," she explained. "I think she would have had a hard time telling you that she was leaving, if you two were really close friends."

Gumi opened her mouth to let out another biting comment, but closed it.  
>She had to admit, Miki was right. Back then, Miku was already hesitant… So saying goodbye would have been an impossible task for her to do.<br>"Oh."

At Gumi's lack of a response, Miki giggled. "I think it's time for you to forgive her," she added.

The older girl snorted, and yanked the hood of her hoodie over her head. "Yeah, yeah…" Gumi shoved her hands back into the pouch of her hoodie, and walked away from the dance machine. "I'll see you later or something."

"Bye, Gumi-nee!"

When Miki was sure that she was alone in the room, she began to giggle once more.  
>Oh, she hadn't expected Gumi to leave in such a hurry. But based on her reactions, maybe Gumi and Miku would be able to become close friends again.<br>The thought brought another smile onto her face. Maybe Miku would finally be satisfied with this new playtoy called Megpoid Gumi.

* * *

><p>After leaving the entertainment room, Gumi decided she should continue on her self-guided tour of the mansion. She wasn't in the mood to sit alone in her room and finish unpacking… Nor was she in the mood to continue that conversation about Miku with Miki.<p>

Gumi wasn't sure where she was headed to now. At this point, she had just decided to let her feet lead the way, no longer caring where they would take her. Her emerald eyes were focused on the floor beneath her. The extremely plush carpet that muffled her each and every step that she took. It was strange, but somewhat fascinating to her. Never had she encountered a carpet so soft that it made her footsteps completely silent. It was as if she were a ninja.

She stopped walking.

Quickly, she looked up and down the hallway to see if the coast was clear. Sure that no one else was in the hall, Gumi drew her hands out from the pocket of the hoodie. She lifted one leg up from the carpet, carefully balancing herself on her planted leg. Then, both of her hands came up to beside her head. "Hiiiiiyaaaah!" She whisper-shouted, as she jumped up, kicked an imaginary enemy, and landed back on one foot. "Beware Kunoichi Gumi!"

"Kunoichi Gumi? Is that what you want as your stage name?"

"HOLY SHIT—!" The "kunoichi" flailed her arms in circles as she regained her balance. "GOD DAMN IT, MIKU!"

The teal haired girl that had been watching her laughed, hands clasped behind her back. She smiled at her old friend, who clearly did not appreciate being snuck up on. "I didn't know you wanted to be a ninja, Gumi-chan," she teased, as she stuck out her tongue.

Gumi grabbed the tongue between her thumb and index finger. "I swear, if you ever tell anyone what you just saw—HEY! STOP THAT!" Her cheeks became a bright pink. "STOPSTOPSTOP! LET ME THUMB GO!"

Miku had pulled Gumi's thumb into her mouth. A mischievous glint could be found in those teal eyes.

"IDIOT! GIVE ME MY THUMB BACK!"

To Gumi's absolute horror, and _extreme_ annoyance, she felt Miku gently bite down on her thumb. And a shiver went up her spine when Miku began to lick and suck on it.

"HOLY FUCK—WHAT ARE YOU- STOP! YOU FREAK!"

Miku giggled, but refused to let go. She knew she was completely in control of the situation.  
>At least, until Gumi was able to realize that she had one hand free.<br>But Miku was hoping she wouldn't realize that for another ten seconds or so.

"STOP! THIS IS SO FUCKING WEIRD—I'M GONNA HIT YOU!"

The teal haired girl shrugged.

"I SWEAR I WILL!"

Another shrug.

_Smack._

Gumi had finally decided to grind her fist into the top of Miku's teal head.

"Eep! Gumi-chaaaaan!" Miku whined, as she finally released Gumi's thumb from her assault. "That huuuuurts!"

"YOU DESERVE IT! NORMAL PEOPLE DON'T DO THINGS LIKE THAT-!"

The teal haired girl wrapped the slender fingers of one hand around Gumi's attacking wrist. With her free hand, she laced her fingers between Gumi's other hand. The smile was back on her face as she pressed her nose to the green haired girl's. "Ne, Gumi-chan," she whispered, her lips brushed against Gumi's as she spoke. "Why're you so violent? You don't have to fight anyone here."

"_You're_ here, and clearly I need to defend myself from your freakish antics," Gumi retorted feebily.  
>Was her voice <em>shaking?<em>  
>Impossible.<br>It was only Miku she was dealing with.

"But Gumi-chan!" Miku giggled a little bit. "We're best friends, aren't we? So why do you have to be violent? Are you still mad at me? You never replied to any of my e-mails or texts after I had first left town."

The green haired girl clenched her teeth together, and turned her head away from Miku's. "Yeah, I'm mad! You didn't say goodbye to me!"

Miku blinked. She wasn't expecting an answer like that.  
>A good bye? Was that the problem?<br>And all this time she had thought that Gumi was ignoring her because she had never returned the other girl's black and white panda hoodie.

"I mean.. What kinda friend does that!" Gumi continued. "Just getting up and leaving town without telling any of her friends?"

Miku didn't answer.

"I'll tell you what kinda friend. A shitty one—Eh!"  
>Hands were pressed against her cheeks, and she was forced to gaze into teal eyes.<p>

"I'm sorry, Gumi-chan," Miku apologized, with another smile on her face. "I didn't know that you would really be so upset about that."

"Yeah, well—mmf!"

Miku pressed her lips against Gumi's, her eyes closed. She stayed like this for a second, and then pulled back. Her slender fingers pulled away from Gumi's cheeks, and she giggled. "_Gomen nasai!"_ she apologized once more. "But now that we have that misunderstanding cleared up, I hope we can be best friends again!"

Gumi gawked at Miku, very aware that her cheeks were probably scarlet. She turned her emerald eyes down onto the carpet. The girl began to shake.

"..Are you crying, Gumi-chan?"

"No…"

"Huh? Then.. Why are you shaking—OOF!"

Gumi had landed a good punch into Miku's jaw, and successfully sent the teal haired girl flying down the hallway. With a huff, Gumi walked away from the limp girl, clearly flustered and annoyed. At this point, Gumi could care less if she had injured Miku.

Miku laid on the floor, her teal eyes looking up at the ceiling. She could have sworn that she saw stars….  
>But at least she was right. Having Gumi around the house would make things a lot more fun now.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> Another short chapter. Yay... x_x  
>Anyway. I just wanted to update this story, since I updated SoL. xD; This wasn't what I originally had planned for chapter 2, but I realized that what I want to do would work better later on in the story. So… I apologize for suddenly changing my plans on you guys! :P<p>

Anyway…

_To the Reviewers:_

_Thyrokio: _XD Yes, Gumi did. Ah, Rin is quite the bold person, isn't she, though? For proposing such ideas? Thanks for your support! (: I'm glad you like "Matryoshka!" so far, as well as "SoL"!

_PaperCutVictim:_ I told you I was going to make a Gumi/Miku story! Hahaha And I agree, I would have done the same as Gumi. XDDD Thanks for your support, man! :D Much appreciated!

Yay for concluding chapter two! Once the story progresses more, I promise that the chapters for "Matryoshka!" will be as long as the ones for "SoL".

See you in the next chapter! (Or in SoL… Whichever gets updated first.)


	3. Megu Megu Fire Endless Night

**Matryoshka!**

**Chapter 3 - Megu Megu Fire Endless Night**

Ahh. I'm taking a little hiatus from "Slice of Life". But only because I really want the next two chapters to be written exactly how I've envisioned them. :P In the meantime, "Matryoshka!" will be updated. A lot. Because I need to get these ideas out from my pocket notebook and turn them into a story. (^^)b

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Vocaloids. I wish I did, but I don't. I only own this story of mine.

* * *

><p>It was only her third day in the mansion, and she was already dreading the day's planned events. Although she had only just moved in, her manager had decided that it would be best to begin working on her image right away…<br>At least, that's what the e-mail that she had received on her iPhone only ten minutes ago had said.  
>A quick glance at the digital clock on her bedside table told her that it was 10:40 AM. Which wasn't a bad time to be up, she supposed. She would have preferred to wake up at 11, but she would have to make do with this.<p>

Man, did she hate mornings.

With a sigh, the green haired girl swung her legs out from the warm, comforting bed sheets. She got up, and went into her bathroom, lazily running her fingers through her mop of green hair. Gumi had never been a morning person, and she knew she would have difficulty adjusting to this odd lifestyle. At least, from what Luka had told her last night, she would have a few free days after today.  
>The girl made a face at herself in the mirror. Today was her first day of work, and she needed to be ready to be picked up by 2. A photoshoot was on today's agenda, followed by a trip to the studio to listen to the demo of her first single. All in all, it was a promotional day, something that Gumi apparently needed if she wanted to start having her own fanbase.<p>

Which was something that she was not particularly interested in.  
>Her friends back home may have thought that she had auditioned to become a Vocaloid as a way to become rich and famous, and Gumi was completely fine with letting them think that. She could care less what they had to say about her leaving to become a singer. It didn't bother her if her friends spread rumors about her leaving. If they did, it only meant that they weren't the kind of friends that Gumi had thought they were.<p>

No, her reason for becoming a Vocaloid had nothing to do with fame or fortune. It was more of a personal challenge. She wanted to see how far she could go as a singer, how far pure talent alone could take her. Gumi knew she was a skilled singer, and now she had a way to see just how talented she actually was. True, it was an off-hand method of testing her skills, but Gumi preferred to have a good challenge.

She turned the hot water on for the bathtub, and poured in some bubble bath. She might as well be comfortable and relax before the rest of the afternoon went haywire…

* * *

><p>"Hey, do ya think she's up by now?"<p>

"Onee-chan, this might not be a good idea… I mean, she's already annoyed with you…"

"Pfft, I don't care! Look, if she's still asleep, all we have to do is stick the hair dye into her bottle of shampoo and scram," Rin whispered to her younger brother as she reached for the doorknob that led to Gumi's bedroom. A wide grin was on her face, and the idea of pulling a prank on the green haired girl clearly excited her.

Len frowned a little bit. He folded his arms across his chest and creased his brows together. The position was a little awkward, since one of his hands held onto a bottle of hair dye. "Mou, Onee-chan, it still doesn't seem right," he protested feebily. "She's only been here a few days. She might try and kill you. I doubt she wants to have purple hair like Gakupo-nii-san," he added. "They maybe cousins, but I don't think she wants to look like him, too."

The elder twin shrugged her slender shoulders, and twisted the doorknob open anyway. The room was still bare, so the only thing to really look at was the bed.  
>Said bed was quite messy, with a few of the numerous orange or green cased pillows had fallen off of the bed and laid about the floor. As for the sheets… Those were a mess.<p>

"Eh? I can't even tell if she's under the blankets or not," Rin whispered, as she squinted her blue eyes at the light green blankets. "Geez… Gumi-nee really likes orange and green, huh?" She stepped into the bedroom, and grabbed Len by his arm. The grin was back on her face as she yanked her twin into the room and strode towards the bathroom. "Well, I'm just gonna guess and say she's still sleeping. So.. Let's go!"

"Onee-chan!" Len stumbled after his sister, blue eyes wide with worry. "But what if she's—"

"Shaddup, will ya? Don't be such a baby!"

"I still think this is a bad—I'm not a baby!"

"Then shut up and listen to your Onee-san when she tells you to do something."

Len opened his mouth, and then shut it. He scowled at the back of Rin's head and allowed her to drag him to the bathroom.  
>Sensing victory, Rin gave her brother a cheeky grin. With her free hand, she gingerly gripped onto the bathroom's doorknob. "Okay. As soon as I open the door, you go in, pour the hair dye into her shampoo bottle, shake it up really good, and we bolt," she whispered, reviewing over the details of their plan. "I'll stand here and keep guard."<p>

"Right."

The twins looked at one another, and exchanged mischievous grins. They both held up a fist, and bumped them against one another. "Go, go, Kaga-Rangers!" they whisper-sung to the tune of "Go, Go, Power Rangers!"  
>Rin opened the door of the bathroom, and pushed it open as quietly as she could. As soon as the door was open, Len quickly dashed into the bathroom, heading over to the bathtub.<p>

"Eh? There's water in the tub…" Len whispered to Rin as he gazed at the foamy water.

"…_What?"_

"Onee-chan, maybe—Oh… Crap…"

"Ah, man… The bath must be ready by now-….." Gumi stopped behind Rin, her emerald eyes looking at the blonde girl, then the blond boy, and back to the blonde girl. She had momentarily left the bathroom to find an outfit to wear once she had finished bathing. It was then that she realized that she had left the water running in the bathroom.  
>But now…<br>Now she was standing behind a cheeky twin. Which wouldn't have been a problem except…

Rin slowly looked over her shoulder and up at Gumi. "Ah—Gumi-nee!" She spun around and put a nervous smile onto her face. "What—We were just looking for you!" One hand went to the back of her head as she rubbed it nervously, trying to play off the fact that they were caught red handed.

"You like striped panties, Gumi-nee?" Len asked, as he tilted his head slightly to the left. "Orange and white, huh? That's kinda funny. Miku-nee likes teal and white. Do you sleep in your panties and just a big orange t-shirt?"

"…_Excuse me?"_

Rin looked at her brother, and then back at Gumi. She hadn't even noticed that Gumi was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and striped panties. "Wow, Gumi-nee," she whistled. "I gotta say, I thought you'd at least wear some pants. Not that anyone would mind…"

"Since you do have some killer legs," Len finished.

"Yeah, exactly!" The blonde girl grinned up at the green haired girl, thinking that maybe showering Gumi would compliments would save her from any sort of divine punishment.

The older girl took a deep breath. She stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Once she heard the click of the door, her hands balled into fists.

"Eh? Gumi-nee, could ya open the door so Len and I can leave?"

Len's curious expression vanished as a sudden wave of fear washed over him. "Oh—Ah, Onee-chan? M-maybe—Gumi-nee doesn't look too—Aw geez.."

"What? Len, you're not making any sense," Rin pouted. She looked back up at Gumi, and blinked. "So. We're just gonna go now—A'DWAH!"

"DIE!" Kunoichi Gumi roundhouse kicked Kagamine Rin, and sent the blonde girl spiraling into the bathtub. "PERVERTED LITTLE DEMONS!"

"ONEE-CHAN—NO! GUMI-NEE! IT WASN'T MY IDEA, I SWEAR!" Len shouted as he ran away from Gumi.

The older girl snatched a bar of soap up from the sink counter, and launched it at the boy's head.  
>And successfully managed to knock Len down onto the cold, tile floor, face first.<br>Above him stood the green haired girl, her eyes ablaze with fury. She ground her foot into Len's back mercilessly.

Man, did Gumi hate mornings…

* * *

><p>"Alright! That's good for today! Thank you Megpoid-san!" The photographer said, as he flipped through the captured images displayed on the LCD screen of his camera. A wide grin was on his face as he began to sort the images into what could and could not be used for the green haired girl's first publishing.<p>

It was well into the afternoon, and Gumi had just finished up her photoshoot. She walked off the set and went into the dressing room. Immediately, she crossed the room and planted her hands down on the counter. Her emerald eyes looked over her reflection in the mirror. At the sight of her outfit, she felt the corners of her mouth twitch into a smile. The outfit was not exactly to her tastes, but she did admit that it suit her pretty well… Especially the color scheme, and the fact that her manager and costume designer had allowed her to keep on her favorite pair of red-orange goggles.  
>The vest and a little top to her skirt were both dark orange in color. The shirt and skirt itself were a light shade of yellow-orange, with white underneath.<p>

She jumped when teal suddenly popped up in the reflection. "HOLY FUCK—MIKU!" Gumi spun around, her back against the countertop now, jaw clenched. Irritated, she gripped onto the edge of the counter, her emerald eyes going from wide to narrow in an instant.

Miku giggled at Gumi's reaction. She brought one of her teal polished lips up to her finger innocently as she continued to give Gumi an unreadable smile. "Ne, Gumi-chan," she sang. "I just finished recording my new song, and our producers said you would be here because of your photoshoot. I thought I'd stop by and see how things went, since it was your first one!"

The green haired girl relaxed a little after her old friend's explanation. "Oh."

The teal haired girl nodded.

"… Well, everything's fine, so you can leave now," Gumi mumbled, as she folded her arms across her chest. "I was just going to change into something more comfortable, and head back home.."

"Ah! Really! What a coincidence! I'm heading home soon, too! Mind if I ride with you?"

"I do mind."

"Neee? Why? We're going to the same place," Miku pouted. "It would only make sense for us to take the same limo back to the mansion."

"I don't want you there because I have to listen to the demo for my first song."  
>Gumi instantly regretted explaining herself to Miku. The brilliant smile that the teal haired girl gave her made Gumi want to throw a brick at Miku's face.<p>

"Kyah! Really!" Miku exclaimed, as she clapped her hands together. "I want to hear you sing it!"

"No. Never."

"Please! The ride home isn't too bad! You'd only have to sing it once or twice or something!"

"No. You're not coming home with me."

Miku giggled. "I never asked you to take me home with you," she teased, twisting Gumi's words around. "But if you really want to take me home I won't stop you."

The green haired girl felt her eye twitch. "Don't say things that could be misunderstood by other people," she snapped, as she rolled her eyes. With a huff, she turned her head and looked at the picture frame mounted on the wall. "If anyone else were here, they would've taken that the wrong way. Things between us aren't like that at all. They certainly will never reach that point."

"Are you sure about that?"

Gumi rolled her eyes again, and gave Miku a sidelong glance. "Yeah, I'm sure—Back up."

Miku smiled, and rubbed her nose against Gumi's cheek. "Mou, Gumi-chan!" she laughed, as she wrapped her arms around the other girl's waist. "Don't be so cold!" The smile on her face only widened when she felt the short haired girl tense up in her arms.  
>It was just too easy to tease Gumi.<p>

"What the hell—Miku, gimme space," Gumi hissed, as she shoved the other girl away. "You're definitely NOT going to ride home with me." The girl grabbed the pair of jeans and t-shirt that were neatly folded on the counter and headed over to the bathroom.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please, please, please!"

"No."

"I'll give you your hoodie back!"

"No-… You have my hoodie?"

"Yup! The panda one! It's in my room somewhere, I think."

"… I want it back."

"Let me go home with you."

"No."

"Then I guess I'm keeping it!"

"… Fine, you can ride home with me. Now leave me alone so I can get dressed."

"Yay! I can't even remember the last time I got to hear you sing!" Miku all but jumped for joy. Instead, she remained where she was.

Gumi sighed, and rubbed her eyes with the fingers of one hand. "Whatever. Can you just get the hell out so I can change?"

"Huh?" The teal girl tilted her head to one side, and put a finger to her lip. "Why do I have to leave?"

"Because I need to change so we can leave."

"But I think you look adorable in that outfit!" Miku complimented the other girl, as she clapped her hands together. "It's so different from the clothes you usually wear. Not that there's anything wrong with you and skinny jeans. That style fits you very well." She nodded her head, a very serious expression on her face. "Because you're that kind of person. Very comfortable in street clothes. I bet if you wanted to, you would be a good model for those stores in America… Ah, what are they called?"

Gumi stared at Miku blankly. "What the hell are you even talking about?"

"Oh! PacSun! Pacific Sunwear, I think is what it's called," Miku continued, ignoring Gumi's question. She gave her friend a thumbs up, and pulled out her iPhone with her free hand. "They sell a lot of the kind of clothes that you would like! I know you'd love it—Maybe we could look at the website when we get home and order you some clothes from there." Her teal polished fingers danced across the screen as she looked up the American store's website.

"Ugh, just shut up and get out. I don't care about that website."

"But just look at it! You'd love these clothes!" She shoved the phone up to Gumi's face.

Gumi's green eyes went cross-eyed as she looked at the screen. "I don't give a shit—Oh.. Those are actually pretty neat…"

"See! I told you that you'd like them!"

"Yeah.." Gumi took the phone from Miku's fingers and flipped through the website. "They have a lot of skinny jeans and pretty comfortable looking clothes—Wait, wait." She brought her hand up to cover her eyes once more. "Stop distracting me. I need to get dressed."

"Oh, right."

"Right. Now get the hella outta the room."

"But why?"

"So I can change, Miku. I need to _change._"

"But we're both girls."

"I know that." Her tone was cold. "Now leave."

"If we're both girls, it shouldn't matter. It'd be like changing in the gym locker room again!"

"Just leave."

"Gumi-nee, don't be so shy! I've already seen you change when we had gym together!"

"Shut up. This isn't high school. Now let me get dressed."

"I'm not leaving."

Gumi dropped the clothes that she was carrying, and grabbed Miku's wrist. She nearly dragged the other girl across the room. With her free hand, she pulled the door open, and flung Miku out into the hallway. "Stay. Right. There."

Miku saluted the other girl, a cheeky smile on her face. "Sir, yes, sir!"

Another twitch of the eye. "I'm not a _sir,_ you idiot."

"Oh, right…" The teal haired girl's smile faltered a little. Her lips pursed together as she thought of a way to correct herself. "Eh… Captain Gumi!"

".. What?"

"Captain Gumi, I'll wait right here!" She saluted once more, mimicking the posture of a soldier saluting their commanding officer.

The green haired girl face palmed. "Geez, okay, okay. Whatever…" She went back into the dressing room and shut the door behind her. "Idiot…" She promptly began to undress, stepping out of the outfit that had been put together by her team. Carefully, she hung them back up onto the rack and picked up her original outfit from the floor.

_BAM!_

The captain jumped and whirled around as the door slammed open.

"Sorry, Captain! I couldn't wait any longer- Whoa."

Gumistared at Miku, face red. Just like before, she had been caught in only her undergarments. But this was infinitely more mortifying than when the twins had seen her…

Miku whistled. "Those are some pretty lacy underwear, Gumi-chan," she grinned, a tickle of blood slowly making its way from her nose. "Wow.. That's really.. Mature of you! You're definitely not in high school anymore." Another thumbs up. "Black lace panties and a white bra with black lace trim? Definitely mature. And it looks like your boobs have gotten bigger since high school. You've got to be at least a—Now, now, let's calm down, Gumi-chan!"

Gumi picked up the chair in front of the counter and mirror with both hands. "Hatsune Miku…." She growled, her eyes on fire once more. "I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You!"

"Gumi-chan, that wouldn't be very nice—Whoa!"  
>The chair was thrown at her, and the teal girl barely jumped out of the way in time.<br>"That was a close one! Your aim's gotten a lot better since high school, too! Have you been practicing?"

"I TOLD YOU TO WAIT OUTSIDE!"

A hairbrush was thrown Miku's way, and she stepped to the side. "Ne, ne, being a violent brute can be quite unbecoming!"

"WHY WON'T YOU EVER LEAVE ME ALONE!"

This time it was a can of hairspray that went crashing into a wall, missing its target as well.

"Why? Because it's fun to be around you!"

"NO. IT SUCKS WHEN YOU'RE AROUND!" Gumi waved a hand mirror at Miku threateningly. "GET THE HELL OUT! RIGHT NOW!"

"Mou, Gumi-chan," Miku eyed the mirror warily. "It doesn't matter anymore. You should just get dressed… And put that mirror down while you're at it. Glass can be deadly."

"I KNOW!"

"So.. You should put the mirror down before someone gets hurt."

"I HOPE YOU GET HURT!"

Miku stepped away from Gumi, her hands up in front of her. "Just put it down…" She took a step towards the other girl, the smile back on her face. "Ne, ne… Just hand me the mirror—Ah!"

Gumi swung the mirror violently, as if it were a sword. "NO. JUST. STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"Ne, ne! Gumi-chan!"

"NO! BACK UP. I'LL KILL YOU—LET GO!"

Miku had successfully crossed the room, her slender fingers wrapped around both of Gumi's wrists. "Please, calm down," she said. She shifted her grip so she was holding onto Gumi's wrists with one hand, and with her now free hand, she pried the mirror from Gumi's hand.

"Let go, Miku…"

"If I let go, you promise not to hurt me?"

"… Fine."

The teal haired girl released her grip on Miku's wrists, and continued to smile at her friend. "See! That wasn't so bad. Now all you need to do is get dressed—eh?"

Gumi scooped Miku up, bridal style, and crossed the room.

"Oh, Gumi-chaaan!" Miku giggled. "Is this practice for when we get married?"

"No."

"Eeeeh? Then why would you be carrying me like this?" The teal haired girl wrapped her arms around the green haired girls neck. A wide smile was on her face as she buried her nose into the crook of Gumi's neck. She took in a deep breath, inhaling Gumi's scent.

A shiver went up Gumi's spine. "Stop that," she said flatly, as she carefully balanced Miku in her arms and opened the door.

"But you smell so good—OW!"

Gumi had dumped Miku unceremoniously onto the floor of the hallway. She glared down at Miku, arms folded across her chest.

Miku merely gave Gumi a perverted grin.

The green haired girl felt her eye twitch once more. "_What!"_ she snapped. "What could you possibly be smirking about this time!"

"You're still only in your panties!"

"Erk-…" Gumi stiffened, and her face turned bright red. "FUCK OFF!" she shouted, before she kicked Miku in the face. When the girl was sent down to the floor, Gumi slammed the door shut.

"That was totally worth it…" Miku said to herself, as she curled up in a ball from pain. "Totally. Worth. It."

* * *

><p>The two sat in the leather seats of the limousine, across from one another. One eyed the other warily, her emerald eyes narrowed into slits. The other seemed unaffected by the intense glare of her companion. Rather than try and break the silence, the teal girl continued to simply smile at her friend.<p>

Gumi rolled her eyes at the grin on Miku's face. "Ugh…. I should've just left your ass at the building…" She muttered, as she leaned over to the control panel for the limousine's sound system.

Miku simply giggled in response and widened her smile, as if to say, "Then why didn't you?"

The new Vocaloid shook her head, and loaded the CD into the player. "Just stay quiet so I can practice, okay?" From the pocket of her jeans, she pulled out a folded sheet of paper. Careful not to rip it, she unfolded it, her emerald eyes scanning over the words typed onto the paper.

"Can I look at them?" Miku asked.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Ugh, fine," Gumi sighed, as she turned the paper around to hand over to the other girl. "Here-….. Okay, that works, too…" She rolled her eyes at the teal girl who had suddenly jumped to the seat beside her.

Miku's teal eyes scanned over the page. She let out a small gasp, and then giggled. "Oh, it's one of the 'Night' songs!" she exclaimed, as she clapped her hands in glee. "Luka-senpai had the first one!"

"I know…" Gumi frowned at her companion. "'Luka Luka Night Fever', right?"

"Right!" The teal girl continued to smile. "Most of us have a 'Night' song. So it's not really surprising that you would end up having one, too. But, ah, the lyrics…" Her smile widened.

"Yeah… They're kinda…"

"It's okay! Just go ahead and sing!"

The green haired girl looked at her apprehensively. "You better stay silent." When her companion gave her a thumbs up, Gumi reached over and pressed play.

The intro to the song began to play, a catchy dance beat. The new idol took a deep breathe, and focused her emerald eyes on the words on the page.

"_Megu Megu Fire Endless Night!"_

Miku remained respectfully silent. She carefully watched Gumi with her teal eyes, glad to finally hear her friend sing once more. The last time she had heard Gumi sing was when the two had gone out to sing karaoke a few days before Miku left the city. She had been planning on telling Gumi about her move out date being pushed ahead. When she had first found out, she had cried for she was unprepared to say goodbye so soon. But… Hanging out with Gumi had caused her to completely forget that she was leaving, thus she failed to ever say goodbye to Gumi…  
>Her thoughts were interrupted when Gumi began to sing once more.<p>

"_Your feelings is a one-way ticket to paradise  
>I'll hold you tight and never let go<em>

Hey, let me feel it  
>Everything that's inside your heart<br>And don't you dare hold back…"

The teal haired girl relaxed beside her friend, and even went as far as to close the distance between them. Shoulder to shoulder now, her smile widened.

"_Megu Megu Fire Endless Night!  
>We'll keep on heating up until it turns to a fever!<br>Megu Megu Fire Endless Night!  
>What we're feeling is all real."<em>

Miku turned her head to look at Gumi.

"_An everlasting unremovable spell made just for you  
>I'll give all my love to you!"<em>

A teal polished finger was placed on Gumi's cheek, and gently turned the green haired girl's face towards her.

"_With a touch of a fingertip, we're flooded with reality…"_ the singer's voice began to waver a little, as she watched the other girl with wary eyes. "_Our merging hearts go in-sync with the beat…"_

The smile on the teal girl's face only widened. She slowly leaned in closer to Gumi, the distance closing between them.

"_Hey, go take a good look  
>At what's inside my heart…<br>And don't you dare look away…"_

Both girls had their eyes closed, and each were moving instinctively to close the gap.

"_**FAIYAAAAAAAA!**_" the man's voice in the recording shouted, jolting Gumi out of her trance.  
>She scooched away from Miku, her heart racing in her chest. "Whoa—That—No. No. Stop that. Quit it, Miku."<p>

Miku opened her eyes, and giggled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That. All of that. Quit messing with me, or I'll kick your ass."

"Ne, ne," Miku tsk'd, and shook her head.

Thankfully, the car came to a halt. As soon as it had completely stopped, Gumi threw open the door to the limousine, nearly knocking over the driver that was standing outside. She leapt out from the car and bolted into the mansion.

Inside the limo, Miku picked up the crumpled piece of paper holding the lyrics. The smile had never left her face. She looked over the lyrics once more, and let out another giggle. "'_With all my feelings, will you love me too?'"_ she whispered the last line to herself. "Ah, samfree made another wonderful piece…" Her teal eyes looked out the window, focused on the girl who had just thrown the door of the mansion open. "Gumi-chan, you're just so much fun to tease.."

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> Heck yeah! Another chapter done! This story is a good break from SoL for me… xD; Don't get me wrong, I _love_ writing SoL! But I needed this break to find a way to organize SoL into what I want it to be… And.. This story is just as fun to write. Only because it's way more comedic, and less drama. Hahaha.

_To the Reviewers:_

_toolazytolog: _Ah, it's a prequel, not a sequel, actually! This story focuses on what happened to Gumi and Miku before the events of SoL. (: But I definitely understand how you feel about reading and exams. X_x I'm the same way when it comes to pysch and sociology… yuck.

_PaperCutVictim:_ haha Thanks, man! : D

_Hiyathere:_ Ah, you do like this one more? xD But I can see what you're saying. Haha. This is more comedy than drama..

_Thyrokio: _woopwoop! That's the Miku everyone loves, huh? XD Thanks for supporting me through _both_ stories! :D Much appreciated!

…: ): You have no username for me to address you properly… But, ah, thanks man!

.

I'm surprised to see that people like this story more than SoL. But. Really, I understand. XD; SoL is kinda intense. And this is some epic comic relief. (^^)b  
>I'd like to thank you all for your support! See ya in the next chapter!<p> 


	4. Panda Hero

**Matryoshka!**

**Chapter 4 – Panda Hero**

X_x It's took me forever to write the two date chapters for SoL and get them to the point where I was happy with both... I'm glad that I have "Matryoshka!" as a side project, though. :D But I do apologize for the delay with this chapter! D: Between SoL and school work, I hadn't been able to work on it until recently. But…

ON WITH THE STORY!

**Disclaimer: **I only own this story, not any of the Vocaloid programs and such.

* * *

><p>The room was quiet, save for the whirring that came from the laptop sitting on the desk. On the monitor a lesson was displayed. A video, much akin to the style of those found on YouTube, was playing. The girl seated at the desk stared at the moving image of a teacher explaining the lesson. Off to the left hand side of the website was a column filled with hyperlinks to lesson outlines and websites jam packed with study guides or extra information. It was a website made for online learning, something that the girl had willingly committed to after signing the contract to become a Vocaloid. After all, she had left mid-way through her second to last year of high school. She needed to wrap up the school year, finish senior year, and be done with it. And maybe, if she felt like it, take the entrance exams to some universities.<br>Maybe.

Hastily, she scribbled down what the teacher had been saying in her notebook. At this point, she didn't care how her awful her penmanship may be; she was merely concerned with jotting down any vital information. With a sigh, she removed her red, rectangular, chic eyeglasses from her face and pushed them up onto her head so they occupied the area that her red goggles normally decked out. Studying so much over the years had made her become slightly dependent on reading glasses, but she chose to wear them sparingly in the hopes of improving her eye sight by not wearing them. Gumi had always been studious, and moving into a rambunctious mansion was not going to change that. Getting good grades had always been something that she took pride in, and (she would _never_ admit this to the others) focusing on her studies served as something of a break from all of the work she had been putting into her music the last few weeks. And using the excuse "I have to go study" had become a favorite phrase of hers, since it would almost always get her away from her more animated house mates.  
>Namely Hatsune Miku.<p>

A flicker of irritation danced across her face as her thoughts went from constructing a sentence properly in English to the teal haired girl. Before she could let her thoughts run wild, she paused the educational video to save her place in the lecture.  
>Okay.<br>Now she could think about Miku without worrying about having to rewatch that English lecture.

Being around the tealette all of the time was taking more out of her than she had expected. Almost every time Gumi stepped out of her bedroom, the pig tailed girl would be there, waiting, with that damned "you-don't-know-what-I'm-thinking" smile. It was a smile that irritated Gumi to no end, for the green haired girl was unaccustomed to being unable to read a person based on their mannerisms or facial expressions.  
>Take, for example, the other residents of the mansion.<p>

Kamui Gakupo was her older cousin, someone that she had grown up with. Their parents had very strong friendships with one another, so the two would frequently see each other over holiday vacations. Just by looking at him, it was easy for her to tell what her _Onii-san_ was thinking. His normally composed face was generally how he felt. The purple haired young man was generally a calm, amiable gentleman. But when he was annoyed, he had the habit of constantly looking around as a way to avoid staring at the source of his aggravation. It was something that she had noticed about her cousin that remained the same throughout the years.

Sakine Meiko may be the oldest female resident of the mansion, but she was someone that Gumi did not particularly care for. Although Gumi had already been a bit apprehensive about Meiko's drinking habits, she found that her opinion of the brunette had only worsened during her time living within the mansion. It wasn't that Meiko wasn't a likeable person… It was just that Meiko had a tendency to be rather violent, especially when she was drunk. And the fact that Gumi was able to figure out what kind of _drink_ Meiko wanted just by looking at her did not improve the brunette's standing with the green haired girl. Drunk people were never Gumi's type.

Shion Kaito was okay in her opinion. He had been one of the easiest people for Gumi to figure out. His mind was either focused on his mad obsession with ice cream or he was thinking about his girlfriend, Meiko. And on the rare occasion that he wasn't thinking about either, he could be quite the child.

Megurine Luka had been a little bit tricky to read, since the pink haired girl was usually composed. But Gumi had noticed that Luka had a habit of smiling when she became nervous. This would only happen when the dinner topics became inappropriate, usually as a result of one of the twins asking a perverse question.

Furukawa Miki… This girl was _extremely_ easy to read, at least, when it came to her emotions. The red head wore her heart on her sleeve, and her facial expressions were always quiet animated. Although… Sometimes Gumi had a hard time following her thought process since they were very different personality wise. Miki was more feminine and Gumi was, simply put, more of a tomboy. Miki liked to wear dresses and skirts, whereas Gumi would rather slam her head into a wall before putting on a skirt.

And as for the Kagamine Twins…. They were absolutely insane. Nothing more, and nothing less.

But Hatsune Miku…  
>For some <em>damned<em> reason, Gumi was unable to figure this girl out. And it drove her completely insane. When they had known each other during that brief time before Miku had left, it had been so easy for Gumi to get a sense of the other girl. Miku had once been a shy, timid girl. That shy girl had been extremely introverted, and kept most of her thoughts and opinions to herself… Which could possibly explain why the teal haired girl was still secretive now that she lived in the mansion. But, unlike their time together in high school, Miku seemed more comfortable with talking to others, and she was certainly more outgoing than before. After all, Miku had stolen a kiss from her.

The plastic pen in Gumi's grip threatened to break under the extreme pressure it was currently experiencing. The more Gumi thought about Miku, the more frustrated she became, and Gumi would tighten her grip on the pen as a way to relieve this frustration. Her grip slackened when she heard her door swing open.

"Eh?" Gumi twisted around in her chair. "You know, it's pretty damn rude to just barge into someone's room without knocking-…. Of course, it would be you."

"Yup!" Miku shut the door behind her before she strode across the room. In one hand was a spiral bound notebook with a teal cover and a black ball point pen, the other carried a white plastic grocery bag. "I thought we could study together—"

"No."

"Mou, Gumi-chan, let me finish," Miku pouted. Without asking for permission, she set her notebook down on the desk beside Gumi's laptop. "We're taking the same online courses, and we have the same _sensei's_. It would be easier if we just did our work together!" A brilliant smile was on her face as she opened up the plastic bag in her hands and peered at the contents within it.

The green haired girl put an elbow up on the desk, and cupped her cheek in the open palm. "No, Miku, I don't want to study with you," she said, her tone flat and void of any sort of amusement. "Now get out." With a click of her wireless mouse, the English lecture video began to play once more.

"_Remember that in English there is a certain order that must be followed to construct a proper sentence—"_

"I brought snacks!"

Gumi rolled her eyes at the comment. "Just get out already, will you?" She yanked open one of the drawers to her desk, and pulled out a pair of white earbuds. Frowning, she plugged the earbuds into her laptop, slipped the earpieces on, and went back to listening to the lecture.

A few strands of teal hair brushed against her cheek as Miku leaned over her shoulder to peer at the laptop's monitor. "Oh! I was just watching this video in my room!" she smiled. "This lesson shouldn't be hard for you, since you're really smart Gumi-chan."

Gumi clicked the "pause" button for the video and glared up at the cause of the extreme amount of irritation that she was currently feeling. Her emerald eyes narrowed at the teal haired girl who only smiled back at her. "I said get out, Miku. I don't mean in five minutes. I mean _now_," she hissed.

"Eh?"

"Now means now, Miku. Now get out." The green haired girl looked back at her monitor, and clicked 'play'. The ballpoint pen in her hand furiously scribbled notes across the lined paper as Gumi used extra force to write her notes.

The video suddenly stopped playing.

Gumi took a deep breath before she allowed herself to look at the teal-polished finger nail that had clicked on the wireless mouse. The corners of her mouth twitched as her eyes then looked up the arm that was attached to said finger, then at the face of the owner of that finger. "And may I ask _why_ you paused my video, even though I had already told you to _leave?"_ Gumi asked, as she struggled to keep her temper in check.

"Because I wanted you to know that I brought snacks," Miku answered, as she continued to give Gumi that meaningless smile.

"…. Really? Is that so?"

"Yup! I brought them so we had something to munch on while we studied!"

"And you thought it would be perfectly okay for you to barge in here, set your things down, _interrupt_ me while I'm studying, just to tell me all of that?"

Miku blinked a few times, and brought a finger to her chin. "Mou, Gumi-nee, when you put it that way, it sounds like I did something wrong," she laughed. "But I told you that I had snacks so you'd let me stay and we could work together!"

"… Just get the hell out of here."

"Ne, ne, Gumi-chan! You'd like the snacks—"

"No. You. Out. Now."

"But—"

"Shut up. Leave."

"Gumi-chan—"

"Right. Now."

"Eh—But—"

"GET OUT! RIGHT NOW! DO I NEED TO SAY IT IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE OR SOMETHING—"

"I brought carrots," Miku interrupted, as she continued to smile at her old frien.

"JUST GET OUT-….. Carrots?" Gumi repeated, as her face went blank.

The tealette nodded. "Yes, carrots. I remembered that you liked them a lot when we were in school together," she explained, as she pulled out the packaged, ready-to-eat carrot sticks from the grocery bag. Carefully, Miku tore open the top of the plastic wrap, and pulled out a carrot stick. "Ne, ne, don't you want one?" She waved the carrot in front of Gumi's face.

"… Give me that." The green haired girl yanked the carrot stick from Miku's hand, and she bit down on the end of it. Avoiding the triumphant look that Miku was giving her, Gumi chose to glower at her laptop.

Miku giggled, and opened up her spiral notebook onto the page of English notes that she had been jotting down prior to going to Gumi's room. She took out another carrot stick, and bit down on the tip before she continued the English video.

* * *

><p>After what had seemed like hours of mindlessly scribbling down the notes for their English course, and mindlessly munching away on carrot sticks, the girls set to work on writing out their essays for their teacher to read. They carried out the task in silence, and this silence was only broken by the crunching of carrots that were being devoured. Not that Gumi minded. She was quite content with the silence, but even more amazed at the fact that Miku had managed to stay quiet until the 90 minute lecture had been completed. During the lecture, the laptop had migrated from the desk to the floor so both girls could watch it properly.<br>In fact, the pair were laying on their stomachs on the carpeted floor while they wrote out their essays. Gumi had headphones on as she listened to her iPhone while she wrote. It wasn't long before she completed the essay. Grinning to herself, she propped herself up on her elbows and looked over at Miku.

"Oi, Miku, listen to my paper," the green haired girl said, as she shoved the pieces of paper at Miku's face.

"Mkay." Miku took the papers, and rolled onto her back. She held the papers up in the air as her teal eyes began to skim over the printed words. "Can you proofread my paper for me?" she asked, as she rolled around on the carpeted floor.

Gumi watched the other girl roll around like an over stimulated puppy. She shook her head, and picked up Miku's paper from the floor. "Yeah, yeah. Just quit rolling around like an idiot, idiot."

Miku simply giggled, and stopped on her back, resuming her previous position from moments earlier. Her eyes went back to reading the paper in her hands. Satisfied that the teal haired girl would no longer rub her idiocy around her floor, Gumi stood up and went to her desk. Her fingers plucked out a green ink pen from the pencil holder, and returned to her seat on the floor. Emerald eyes quickly read over the printed words. As soon as she spotted an error, her green pen was sure to circle the mistake or jot down recommendations on how to fix an oddly phrased sentence. Note after note was scribbled onto the paper, and soon enough, the green ink of Gumi's pen threatened to dominate the page.

"Alright, I think this should be good," she mumbled to herself, as she used one hand to run her fingers through her hair. "If you just fix the things that I marked, you should be able to get a good grade on your paper, I think." Gumi smiled a little bit to herself, taking delight in the fact that Miku was still a little needy when it came to homework help. The fact that this detail about the teal haired girl hadn't changed at all made Gumi slip into a sense of nostalgic comfort, and she couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Miku hadn't completely changed. "Do I have to fix anything in my paper?" She turned her emerald eyes from the paper and onto her companion.

Her smile was quickly wiped off of her face when she saw that the teal haired girl had fallen asleep. Gumi could have sworn that she felt her temple throb as she stared at the dozing Miku, who had a small trickle of drool coming from the corner of her mouth. The paper that Gumi had painstakingly written was crumpled slightly in the sleeping girl's hand, and rested against her slowly rising and falling stomach.

"Oi… Miku…" Gumi's words were icy as she struggled to keep her temper in check. "_Close your eyes… Take a deep breath… count to ten…."_ She thought to herself as she tried to remain calm.  
>1….. 2….. 3…..<p>

Miku rolled onto her side, effectively crushing Gumi's paper beneath her. Her lips began to move as she mumbled something incoherently.

4… 5… 6….

Gumi leaned in a little bit, one brow raised, as she attempted to listen to what Miku may have been muttering.

"Mou, Gumi-chan…. Now?..." A pause as the teal haired girl giggled in her sleep. "So naughty… We shouldn't…!"

7… 8…

The green haired girl felt her temple throb as she stared at the sleeping girl, completely dumbstruck. "She seriously can't be dreaming about me… She _can't_ be… Oh, shit, I think she is… It better not be anything-…."

9…..

"Ehehe! Gumi-chaaaan! Mou, you're so good at this!"

…..

Gumi promptly stood up, went to the door, and opened it. She walked back and stopped beside Miku. Without giving the other girl any sort of warning, she picked Miku up with both hands, and hurled the tealette out the door.  
>Miku's eyes shot open when she felt herself fly through the air. "Ah—AH! <em>NANI!<em> WHAT- OOF!"

_THUD. Thud… Groan._

The poor tealette had smacked her back against the wall, slid down, and bumped her head against the floor. Despite the excruciating amount of pain that she felt, she managed to open one teal eye, and stared at the green haired girl that was glaring at her from beneath the door frame. "What…. Did I do?" she groaned, as she saw stars spinning before her.

"DON'T YOU EVER HAVE DREAMS ABOUT ME. EVER. YOU GOT THAT!" Gumi roared, before she went back into her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Miku could only stare at the closed door. "… Oh," was all she said before she blacked out.

* * *

><p>Gumi had returned to sitting at her desk, the red framed glasses back on her face. Laptop sitting before her, and pen in hand, she had decided that the best way to calm her nerves after that awkward situation was to go through a biology lecture. So she sat there, at her desk, prepared to watch 45 minutes of a PowerPoint presentation on the cell and all of its organelles. Over the course of a few minutes, she felt her eyes grow heavy. She struggled to remain awake, but the PowerPoint was so <em>boring<em>….

* * *

><p>"Ya know, Miku-nee's been in Gumi-nee's room for a while," Rin stated, as she opened the hall closet's door. She peered down, and pulled out the beddings needed to set up a proper futon on the floor. It was Friday night, and it had become something of a tradition to hold a sleepover amongst the younger Vocaloids. "Ya think she's gonna remember that we're all sleeping over in her room tonight?"<p>

Her younger brother shrugged his shoulders as he waited for Rin to gather up her beddings. "Maybe," Len answered. "She said they were going to work on their school assignments and all of that, Onee-chan. They might still be studying now." The male blonde tugged out the beddings for his own futon once Rin had stepped aside. The twins gathered up their materials into their arms, and began to walk down the hallway. "I hope she remembered to invite Gumi-nee… It is the end of her first week here, after all."

Rin blew a puff of air at the few stray strands of blonde hair that had managed to escape her hair clips. "Eeeehhh? But this is Miku-nee we're talking about! She's probably trying to find a way to convince Gumi-nee to make-out with her or something!" she snorted at Len's explanation of things and rolled her blue eyes. She blinked, and looked at her brother. "We should get a video camera and hide it in Gumi-nee's room!" Her face lit up at the idea and a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, much to Len's horror.

"What! NO!"

"YES!" Rin eagerly ran ahead of her brother. "LET'S DROP THESE OFF IN MIKU-NEE'S ROOM! AND THEN WE'LL RUN BACK AND GET MY CAMERA!"

"No! Onee-chan, that's a terrible idea!"

"Did I ask for your opinion? … No? THEN SHUT UP—AAH!"

_Slam!_

The elder Kagamine had tripped over the unconscious body of Hatsune Miku, and landed on top of the other girl. "Ow, ow—OH! MIKU-NEE!"

With a groan, the elder girl pushed the blonde's legs off of her torso, and sat up. One teal polished hand rubbed the slight bump on the top of her head, and she winced at the pain that came from merely touching the sensitive bump. "Ow… Oh wow, Gumi-chan's a powerhouse," she giggled, as she looked at Rin, then at the gaping Len.

"Wha—Miku-nee! You shouldn't lay around like that!" Len scolded, as he shifted the futon beddings in his arm to one hand. He extended his now free hand to his sister.

Rin promptly slapped his hand away and leapt up to her feet. With her hands on her hips she leaned over and put her face in front of Miku's. "MIKU-NEE! YOU MADE ME TRIP!" Air puffed her cheeks out as she tried her best to glower at the teal haired idol. She shoved Miku in the shoulder. "I COULD'VE DIED!"

"Eheh… Sorry, Rin-chan," Miku apologized, as she closed one eye and stuck her tongue out at the younger girl. "I didn't mean to. I sort of only just woke up."

"… Wait, what?" Rin's cheeks deflated as she blinked at her housemate.

Miku removed her hand from her head and continued to give Rin that cheeky smile. "I just woke up. Gumi-chan threw me at the wall! I had no idea she was so strong," she said as she stood up and brushed any dust that may have accumulated onto her outfit off.

The twins exchanged looks of confusion. The blonde girl sat on the beddings that had fallen onto the floor, and cupped her cheek in one hand. "Why the hell would she do that?"

"Onee-chan! Don't swear in front of Miku-nee-"

"Shut up, Len."

"Don't tell me to shut up, Onee-chan!"

"I already did, fool!"

"I'm not a fool!"

"Yeah, you are. Isn't he a fool, Miku-nee-…. Miku-nee?" Rin looked up and down the hallway, surprised to see that the tealette had vanished. "WHERE DID YOU GO— Oh."

A door swung open and, Miku poked her head out from the room. "Ne? I thought you two could go ahead and set up your futons in my room," she explained, as she skipped out of her room. "Miki-chan's already in there, too." She proceeded to go past the twins with a wide smile on her face. "I'm going to go get Gumi-chaaaan so we can have our sleepover now!"

The twins watched as Miku stopped a little ways down the hallway in front of a white door with a green and orange sign mounted onto it. Miku knocked on the door once, waited a few seconds, and then twisted the door knob open. With another cheeky grin at the twins, she winked, and headed into the room, shutting the door behind her.

The twins exchanged another set of loaded looks, shrugged their shoulders, and gathered up the beddings for their futon. They promptly headed into Miku's room to prepare for the night. At this point, there was no stopping Miku from getting Gumi to join their sleepover… But if what Miku said was true, they didn't want to be in the hallway if Gumi decided to hurl the tealette out of her room once more.

* * *

><p>Giggling. She heard giggling and hushed whispers.<br>That was strange. She had thought that she was in her room. But if she were in her room, it wouldn't be noisy. Because she doesn't like pointless noise…

"Mou, Miku-nee, I really think we should have waited for Gumi-nee to wake up," a voice said. Strangely enough, it sounded eerily similar to Miki's voice…

A giggle.  
>No.<br>That irritating giggle.  
>The giggle that haunted her even in her <em>dreams.<em>

"_Daijoubu!"_ Miku continued to giggle. "It's okay! Gumi-chan won't mind!"

"Oi! Nee-sans! I think she's waking up!" Was that Rin?

Gumi wasn't sure, but if she had to bet her money on something, she was sure that she was surrounded by idiots. Loud idiots at that.  
>But what were those idiots doing in her room?<p>

A light thud came from beside her, and Gumi realized that she was currently lying on her side.  
>Weird. Wasn't she at her desk just a moment ago? Studying.. Right?<p>

Hesitantly, Gumi slowly opened her eyes. She yelped when she saw that a pair of teal ones were only centimeters away from her emerald pair. The owner of those teal eyes grinned and puckered her lips as she leaned in to steal a kiss. "WHAT THE—GET AWAY!" Gumi barked, as she swung a fist at Miku's face.

"WHOA!" Miku pushed herself up, narrowly avoiding the green haired girl's fist. "Gumi-chan! It's not proper for a girl to throw punches at other girls!"

"_DAMARE!_ SHUT UP!" Gumi roared as she sat up and glared at the now standing tealette. "What the hell were you trying to do just now, huh?"

Miku blinked a few times and tilted her head to one side. "Ne? Mou, Gumi-chan, I thought you were smart… I just wanted a little kiss. _Kissu desu ne!"_

"NO." Gumi stood up and pointed a finger accusingly at Miku. "AND WHERE THE HELL AM I! THIS ISN'T MY ROOM!"

"You're right! I'm glad you picked up on that! This is my room."

"Wha—How did I even get in here!"

"I brought you here! By the way, you're absolutely adorable when you're sleeping. Especially when your glasses were all askew!"

"Shut up! I'm pretty damn sure that's trespassing or something! WAIT. You _brought_ me in her?"

"But I did carry you here, though. You're a little heavier than I thought, though. _Anata wa debu desu ne_—"

"What was that? _DEBU JANAI! _I'M NOT FAT!"

"Ah, M-Miku-nee… G-Gumi-nee, please calm down," Miki waved her hands frantically as she stood up between the two. The redhead looked at one girl and then at the other. "Please, just calm yourselves… It's supposed to be a fun night, too." She pouted at Miku and shook her head. "You shouldn't tease people the way you do, Miku-nee.." She paused and then looked at Gumi.

Gumi grinned at Miku. "See, Miku? Even Miki-chan thinks you need to calm the hell down—Eh?"

"_GOMEN NE!"_ Miki bowed at Gumi, hands clasped in front of her. "I'm deeply sorry for Miku-nee's behavior." She glanced at Miku, and put one hand on the back of the tealette's head, and shoved her down into a bowing position as well. "Please stay and have a sleepover with us!"

At this, the snickering Kagamines who were seated on the floor, knelt before Gumi with their noses to the floor. "GUMI-SAMA! STAY AND HANG OUT WITH US! YOU AREN'T FAT! WE PROMISE!"

Gumi stared at the four. _"It's like this is a poorly written anime or something…"_ she thought to herself, as she shook her head. One of her hands covered half of her face as she sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll stay.. Geez, just quit groveling like that, it's freaking me out—OOF!"

Teal filled her vision as she hit the floor with a thud.

"Yay! Gumi-chan's going to sleep over! I'm so excited!" Miku squealed as she rubbed her cheek against Gumi's. "We haven't had a sleepover in such a long time!"

"Get… Off…." The green haired girl's words were icy as she tried to pry Miku off of her.

"I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!"

"Shut up!"

"Ehehehe! This is going to be so much fun!"

Miki and the twins looked at one another. The redhead blew a puff of air at her bangs and swiped them out of her face. "Ah, I hope we can all survive this night…." She sighed, as she began to set up Gumi's futon.

* * *

><p>The futons were neatly arranged in a row, and each of the participants of the sleepover had changed into their pajamas after the brief episode between Gumi and Miku (Gumi had only been convinced to let Miku continue to hug for another 30 seconds with the promise of getting her old panda hoodie back from Miku). And now the group sat arranged in a circle on the floor.<p>

The Kagamine twins were dressed in matching yellow pajama sets; the classic long-sleeved button down top and matching pants. Miki wore a pair of white short shorts and a navy blue tank top. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but her trademark ahoge had refused to be a part of the pony tail and proudly stayed on the top of her head. Miku was now dressed in a black and white plaid flannel pants and a teal tank top.  
>And as for Gumi… She had decided to wear the oversized hoodie that Miku had returned to her along with black short shorts. The black sleeves of the hoodie were long, and extended to a little past her hands. Her arms were folded across her chest, and covered part of the white torso of the hoodie. The black hood had been pulled up to cover her short green hair, not that she really minded. A scowl was on her face as she glared at the smiling teal haired girl that was sitting opposite of her.<p>

"Gumi-chan, you're so cute in your panda hoodie!" Miku squealed in delight. "I forgot that that hood had little panda ears sewn onto it, too!"

At this, all eyes were trained onto Gumi. Red, blue and teal.

Gumi stiffened at the amount of attention that she was now receiving. "Yeah, yeah," she snorted, as she turned her head to look away from the group. "It's not a big deal. I'm just glad I finally got this hoodie back after a year."

Miki offered a smile in Gumi's direction. "Well, I think it does look cute on you, Gumi-nee," she complimented the older girl. "You really are cute in it."

At this the twins grinned. They exchanged knowing looks before they turned their blue eyes onto Miki. "Miki-nee's only saying that because she _loves_ when people dress up like animals," Rin began the storm of teasing's that were lingering in the Kagamine's minds. "Especially Iroha-neesan!"

"Right, right! Iroha-neesan's a kitty, right? She always wears cat-eared hats!" Len chimed in, as he grinned at the now blushing redhead. "Don't you have a big crush on Iroha-neesan, Miki-nee?"

"I—N-No! Don't say such things!" Miki stammered pathetically, her ahoge twitching as she frantically looked at one twin and then at the other. "It's not—I just—That's—Well you see—Nnnn!" Her hands quickly flew up to her face in an attempt to her scarlet cheeks.

Gumi rolled her eyes, and chopped both of the twins on their heads. "Knock it off," she growled. "Can't you see that you're embarrassing her?"

The twins yelped in pain, and covered their heads with their arms as tears streamed from their eyes. Miki peeked at the twins from between her fingers. Noticing that they had been promptly silenced by the blows to their heads, she brought her hands away from her face and sighed. She then gave Gumi a small but thankful smile. "Thank you…"

The green haired girl shrugged and stuffed her hands into the pouch pocket of her hoodie. "No problem…" She blinked and tilted her head ever so slightly as she looked at Miki. "But.. I'm kinda surprised. I didn't think you'd, ya know…" Her tone became slightly hesitant. "Like girls."

At this, the blush promptly returned to Miki's cheeks. "Ah—Well, I don't… It's not that I only like girls," she mumbled, as she looked down at the carpet. "I just like people for who they are—Eep!"

"Aw! So cute!" Miku giggled, as she pulled Miki into a tight hug. "You're just the cutest person! Truer words have never been spoken! People shouldn't put labels on others because of who they like!"

"R-Right, Miku-nee…" Miki managed to choke out from the near suffocating embrace.

Gumi blinked a few times and stared at Miku. "Eh? Does that mean you like girls, Miku?"

The teal haired girl looked at her, and smiled. "Mm? Yeah, I guess so. Does that bother you?"

Rin halted her tears as she looked at Gumi, expectantly waiting for an answer.

"Huh—Nah, it doesn't," Gumi shook her head, her green bangs waving to and fro. "It kinda explains why you always turned down those boys that asked you out on dates back when we were in school together," she explained, with an indifferent shrug.

Len noted that a mischievous glint appeared in his sister's eyes. He wasn't sure if he should be excited that his sister was clearly plotting something, or fear for her safety.

"Gumi-nee! What about _you?_" Rin asked, as she latched her arms around her pillow and leaned towards the green haired girl. She grinned and her blue eyes stared at the other girl, begging her to answer the question.

Gumi felt her cheeks warm up at the question. She narrowed her eyes and glowered at Rin. "What gives you the right to ask me that sort of question?"

"What if I asked it?"

"Shut up, Miku."

Rin laughed and continued to stare at Gumi. "C'mon, Gumi-nee! It's just a question! Do you like girls or boys or both?" She asked, this time adding a variety of possible answers. The thought of finding out Gumi's preference was exciting, even if she didn't personally care who Gumi may be attracted to. It really didn't matter to her if Gumi liked boys or girls. But the fact that Gumi was being so careful to _dodge_ the question was interesting.

"Eh—Boys," Gumi answered, almost exasperatedly. Her cheeks were scarlet, but she continued to glare at the elder twin. "Okay? Now get off my case—"

"That's boring," Rin groaned, as she leaned away from Gumi. "So boring!"

Gumi rolled her eyes as she tried to refrain from kicking the cheeky blonde girl in the face. "Whatever," she muttered as she crawled over to her futon. "It's getting late, anyway. Let's get some sleep, alright?" She quickly got under the thick blanket, and turned her back to the group.

The others exchanged looks, shrugged their shoulders, and followed Gumi's lead. Miku went under the covers last, for she had to turn off the lights.

"_Oyasumi nasai!"_ they chorused once they were all comfortable.

* * *

><p>"Mmf…" Gumi squeezed her eyes shut tighter as she shifted restlessly under the blanket. She rolled onto her side and clutched the pillow case with one hand. She was faintly aware of someone's presence, but she ignored the feeling. This was a sleepover, after all, and all of the futons were lined up side-by-side. It wouldn't be unusual to find someone else sleeping in the futon beside her.<p>

What was odd though, was the amount of warmth she felt under the blankets. It was like she was roasting in an oven or something… Had it always been so warm under the covers?

She groaned and rubbed one eye groggily before she opened it. Her mouth flew open as she was about to shout in protest, but a hand quickly covered her mouth. Miku winked at her, and silently "sh"d her. "We don't want to wake the others, now, do we?" The tealette whispered, as wrapped her arms around the startled greeneatte.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing in my futon? Go back to yours!" Gumi whispered harshly, as she tried to worm her way out of Miku's embrace.

Miku's expression became serious as she stared into Gumi's protesting emerald eyes. "You lied to them, you know," she whispered back, sounding disappointed.

"What? Get off of me and let me sleep! It's too early in the morning for this!"

"But you _lied,"_ Miku repeated, her lips now pursing together into a pout. "It isn't good to lie… You never lied about anything else before."

"I don't even know what you're—"

"You like _both_, Gumi-chan. You know that, and I know that," the tealette interrupted. She sighed, and pressed the bridge of her nose against Gumi's neck. The teal haired girl only clutched onto Gumi's shirt tighter. "Well, maybe that's what you've been trying to convince yourself."

Gumi stopped squirming, and stiffened at the words. "What—Shut up, you don't—Look, can we just go to sleep?"

"…. Okay… But one day you're going to have to face facts," Miku continued.

"Whatever. That day isn't today, so leave me alone."

"But I don't want to sleep by myself."

"…. Are you kidding me?" Gumi hissed, as she narrowed her eyes at the other girl. "Go sleep in your own futon! Or your freaking _bed!"_ This was unbelievable. Gumi had thought that Miku would have grown out of this sort of behavior by now. Sleeping with someone else was a child's habit!

Miku shook her head, and remained latched onto Gumi. "Please? For old time's sake?" She asked, her tone pleading.

Every brain cell that Gumi possessed was screaming at her to say "No" and push the other girl away. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. "Fine," she sighed, as she shut her eyes. "Fine. Just this one time, okay?"

The tealette smiled, and slackened her grip on Gumi. "Okay."

"And the next time we have another one of these freaking sleepovers, you stay in your own futon, got it?"

"Got it."

"Don't you ever come crawling into mine again."

"Yes, Gumi-chan."

"Promise?"

A giggle.

Gumi sighed, and frowned a little at the answer she received. Oh well. She knew it would be no use to try and convince Miku otherwise. At least she would be able to sleep in her own futon at the next sleepover… She felt vibrations ripple through her hoodie. Confused, she carefully looked down at the tealette. "Miku?" She whispered.

Miku shifted a little, pressing her body closer to Gumi's. "_Oyasumi_, Gumi-chan," she mumbled, with a small smile on her face.

"Uh... Yeah, good night," the green haired girl mutered back, as she shut her eyes once more.

It was quiet for a few seconds before Miku broke the silence once more. "I'm glad you're here... I really missed you..." This time Miku's voice was filled with grogginess, and it was obvious that she was on the verge of falling asleep. Her arms slackened even more, but she kept them wrapped around Gumi, as if the green haired girl were a giant teddy bear.

Gumi snorted, but she couldn't supress the minute smile that had appeared on her face. "Yeah.. I missed you, too. Now get some sleep, dammit."

The other girl let out a drowsy giggle. It wasn't long before her breathing evened out and she had fallen into a deep sleep.  
>When she was sure that Miku was fast asleep, Gumi hesitantly wrapped an arm around Miku in a sort of awkward embrace. "Idiot..." she mumbled, before she fell asleep herself.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> Yay. Sorry for the extended delay on updating this story! I wasn't expecting to take such a long time to write the chapters for SoL. X_x; But I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

_Reviewer Replies:_

_PaperCutVictim: _XDDD Ah man. After PM to each other, I'm pretty sure we've covered everything in your review! Haha! :D I'm glad you like the story so far, though!

_Masaru2509:_ Thanks! I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

_Major Mike Powell III: _Ahh! Don't worry about not reading and reviewing the earlier chapters! I'm just glad to have you review and read both of my stories! :D Thanks again for your support!

_Thyrokio: _Len can be a bit of a pervert… But he does suffer constant abuse at the hands of his sister. XD So I suppose he gets punishment that way. Hahaha. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

(^^)b Alright, that's all, guys! See you in the next chapter!


	5. Rolling Girl

**Matryoshka!**

**Chapter 6 – Rolling Girl**

Okay, it's the last day of my fall break. I decided I'd go ahead and write up another chapter. I never finish writing a chapter the same day I start it. xD; So let's see how long it'll take to get this posted.  
>And I apologize that I started adding more and more Japanese to the story. XD; But I'll be sure to make it clear what they are saying!<p>

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vocaloids.

* * *

><p>The young Vocaloids had decided to spend the day watching movies and playing video games. They had nothing better to do, since the older Vocaloids were out and about. Their recording label and managers had decided that the older ones should promote their new music by playing a one-day concert in Tokyo. And so, Gakupo, Kaito, Meiko and Luka had all left this morning to go to the private airstrip and board their jet to head off to the capitol. They had promised to return in the morning.<p>

This left the young residents to fend for themselves. And, most importantly, who would cook their meals for while their senpais were gone. When the topic of cooking supper arose, they had decided to settle it like mature adults.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Loser cooks.

"It's settled! I'll make dinner tonight!" The tealette jumped up from the couch, her hand held high in the air. She had been the only Vocaloid to choose paper, while the other four had chosen scissors.

"What—NO! Hell no!"

Megpoid Gumi shook her head as she stood up the opposite end of the couch. "Hell. No," she repeated once more. There was no way she was going to allow Miku of all people to cook their meal. The last time she ate one of Miku's home cooked meals was when they were in school together. She vividly remembered being married to the toilet that night as she threw up the contents of the meal into the porcelain bowl. "Never again!"

"Eh? Gumi-nee… _Kore wa nazedesu ka?_" Rin asked from the floor. The blonde haired girl was still laying on her back, and her arm was up in the air, her hand still formed in the shape of a pair of scissors. "Why is that, Gumi-nee?" Her blue eyes looked up at the agitated green haired girl, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. She grinned and decided to press on. "Did you have a bad experience with Miku-nee's cooking or something?"

Furukawa Miki blinked, and looked at Miku and then at Gumi. "Ah, it couldn't have been that bad," she said quickly. She had been curled up alone on the love seat, watching the others talk.

Beside Rin was Len. Like his sister, he was also laying on his back, hands resting on his stomach. "Sick?" He repeated, his lips creasing downwards into a frown.

"YES! Sick! And I refuse to eat that garbage ever again!" Gumi exclaimed as she folded her arms across her chest and glared at the smiling tealette.

Miku laughed and shook her head. With her hands on her hips, she continued to smile cheekily at Gumi. "Mou, Gumi-chan! I've gotten better at cooking!" she waved one hand at the other girl as if to ward off the negative thoughts that the green haired girl was thinking. "I promise you won't get sick this time."

Gumi shook her head no. "I refuse to even-… Huh?" Her face went blank as she stared at Miku. Her emerald eyes blinked a few times. "B-Better you say?"

"Mm!" Miku nodded once before she turned her back to the group and strode towards the door. "So I'll cook then!" She exited the room before anyone, namely Gumi, could protest anymore.

The short haired girl stayed put, standing by the couch. Her face was still blank as she struggled to comprehend what Miku had just said. Had the tealette grown in her cooking skills during her time away from home? Was that possible, or was that a bold faced lie? It was a bit hard to believe. But maybe… Maybe the teal haired girl could cook. She supposed that it _could_be possible. Maybe.

"Ano, Gumi-nee?" Miki looked over at the still blank-faced green haired girl. "Is everything okay?"

Snapped back to reality, Gumi looked back at Miki. "Ah—No. I think I'm going to make sure Miku can actually cook." She stated, as she turned away from the others and headed out of the room.

"Eh? _Ch-chotto matte,_ Gumi-nee-…" The door slammed shut behind Gumi, and Miki was left with her arm outstretched towards the door. She sighed, and dropped her hand, and shook her head. "Ah, Gumi-nee…"

* * *

><p>Pots and pans clanged together as Miku searched through the cabinets to find a pot that was just the right size. She hummed a song to herself while she searched for the elusive pot, her teal hair swaying to and fro. After a few more seconds of humming, she began to sing absent mindedly.<p>

"_Lonely girl always dreamt of unreachable dreams  
>Making noise inside her head, stirring, churring…"<em>

She spotted the pot, and pulled It out. Smiling, she brought it over to the sink. With a twist of the silver knob, water began to flow from the faucet and into the pot.

"_She muttered, 'No problem,' but aren't those words lost?  
>Failing again, failing again,<br>After your search for mistakes, let's roll again!"_

The pot was then set down on the top of the stove, and a burner was turned on with a flick of her wrist. Now all she had to do was wait for the water to boil so she could continue to make the curry. Without skipping a beat of the song, she continued to sing as she headed to the kitchen's large, stainless steel refrigerator. "_Once more, once more. 'I'll roll again today.'"_ She sang, as she pulled out carrots from the vegetable drawer. She shut the fridge door and went to find a couple of potatoes. "_The girl said, the girl said. Playing with the meaning of words!" _Miku set everything down on the countertop besides the stove area. She pulled out a chopping board and looked down at the gathered ingredients and the now boiling water.

"Oi, you're supposed to be cooking, not singing," Gumi sighed, as she leaned her back against the counter beside Miku.

"Ne, ne, Gumi-chan!" Miku laughed, and began to peel the potatoes. "It'll be okay, I can cook and sing at the same time!"

Gumi rolled her eyes and simply watched the other girl peel the potatoes. Arms crossed across her chest, her emerald eyes watched the other girl carefully peel the brown skin from the vegetable. Her eyes wandered from the shining knife to the fresh carrots on the counter. The short haired girl loved carrot. And it seemed like Miku had picked up too many carrots to use for the curry… Maybe Miku wouldn't notice if a couple went missing. Gumi glanced at the teal haired girl, making sure that Miku was still focused on peeling the potatoes. Satisfied that she wouldn't get caught, the short haired girl slowly reached a hand out and snatched a couple of carrots. The carrots were promptly shoved beneath her shirt. She stood up straight, and began to head towards the exit of the kitchen and towards her room.

"Gumi-chan?"

The greenatte froze underneath the open entryway when her name was called. She glanced at Miku from over her shoulder.

"Don't hide the carrots." Miku was still peeling a potato, but Gumi noticed the amused smile that was plastered onto her face. "May I please have them back?"

Gumi scrunched her nose up. With a defeated expression on her face, she dragged her feet as she went back to Miku's side. A few words were muttered under her breath as she withdrew the carrots from their hiding spot and set them back down on the counter. "Man... I thought for sure that I wouldn't get caught," she groaned, as she shot Miku a sour look.

Miku laughed, gave her old friend a wide grin. "Silly, Gumi-chan! I know you better than that," she explained, as she finished up peeling the last potato. The spud was set down on the chopping board, and the teal haired girl began to busily cut the potatoes into pieces. "You've always loved carrots. I even bought you that bag of carrots when we studied the other day, remember?" Once she finished that, she moved on to chopping the carrots.

"Yeah, yeah…" The short haired girl was still sour about her failed abduction of the orange vegetables. With a roll of her eyes, she walked around the counter and took a seat on a high stool that lined the island counter. She put both of her elbows up on the granite countertop and tucked her head into her palms. "You suck, ya know," she continued to gripe. "I really wanted some of those carrots."

"I know, I know," Miku laughed, and shook her head. "Don't worry! I'll be sure to add extra carrots to your share."

"And less potatoes. You know I don't like them that much."

"Got it!" The vegetables were dumped into the pot and the tealette quickly moved on to prepare the meat.

"But definitely a lot of carrots would be appreciated."

"I know, Gumi-chan," Miku looked up from the chopping board and gave her companion a warm smile. "I still remember how you like your curry." With practiced ease, the meat was quickly and efficiently chopped up and dumped into the pot. The chef for the night took her ladle and stirred the ingredients within the pot. "Actually, I remember when you cooked dinner for me that weekend my parents left town."

Gumi blinked several times as she tried to recall such a time. "Ah—Right. They went away on a business trip, right? For your dad's work or something?" she shrugged. "I remember. You called and asked if I could spend the weekend because you'd be lonely, and Kaito-nii wasn't able to take time away from work to spend the weekend with you like he had promised. Geez, and you kept making me sleep in the same bed as you because you didn't want to be alone at all."

"Mm!" The chef nodded her head and reached over for the packets of curry sauce that had been set aside. "And when you asked what I was going to make for dinner the first night, and I told you I didn't know how to cook—"

"GEEZ! YEAH!" Gumi exclaimed as she lifted her head up from her hands. "That was ridiculous! How did you _not_ know how to cook? It's so simple! Whatever it was that you made that Friday night was inedible! I threw up right after dinner!"

"I'm sorry! That really was my first time cooking without having my mom there to walk me through everything," Miku's smile became apologetic, but it was still in good humor. She tore open one of the packets and dumped the sauce into the pot. "But the meal that you made the next night was delicious. That's why I decided I would make curry tonight, actually. It was so good, that I thought I'd try mimicking what you did back then," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "I was hoping you'd remember that weekend… It was pretty important to me."

"Eh?" The short haired girl was taken aback by the statement, and she was unsure of how to respond. "Uh… Really? Why's that?" Gumi asked as she looked at the tealette with a mixed expression of curiosity and confusion.

Miku dumped in another package of curry sauce, and stirred ingredients once more. She stopped her actions, and met Gumi's gaze. "Because I realized I liked you after that weekend."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile…<em>

The redhead and the blonde male were head to head in a match of DDR. Miki's ahoge bounced furiously as her feet tapped out the proper sequence of arrows for the song, and her long, waist-length hair swished back and forth behind her. Her ruby eyes were focused solely on the dance machine's monitor, but there was a wide smile on her face as she played the game. Beside her, the boy clumsily made his way through the song. Although he was a Vocaloid as well and had to do a bit of dancing himself, DDR was not one of his strong points. His hands gripped the red support bar behind him as he scrambled to tap down one arrow and then another. Len mentally cursed himself for even agreeing to play the game with Miki. It was common knowledge within the mansion that Miki was the best when it came to the rhythm based game. The fact that he was even playing the game was surprising in itself, but he was unable to say "no" when Miki pouted at him while asking if he would play with her. And he continued to curse himself for agreeing to play on _expert_ when he was clearly a beginner at the game.

"Mou, Len-kun, it looks like Miku-nee and Gumi-nee are pretty close, right?" Miki asked once the song had ended. Her breathing was a little quicker than normal due to the intense workout that DDR provided, but it was nothing that she couldn't handle. She noticed that the boy, on the other hand, was gasping for air. A sweat drop made its way down the side of her head as she stared at the breathless boy. She shook her head and turned to pick out the next song.

Len gulped down some air, and leaned back against the red bar as he tried to control his breathing. "Y-yeah, Miki-nee," he answered after another gulp of air. "I guess they are close. Maybe."

"'Maybe'?" Miki repeated as she scrolled through the list of available songs.

"Uh-huh." The boy stood up and looked at the back of Miki's head. "Gumi-nee's sorta violent—No, she's really violent," he corrected himself. "Especially with Miku-nee. I _guess_ they're close… We did wake up after the sleepover and found them hugging each other, right?"

The redhead laughed and nodded. "Right! That was so cute!" She squealed, as she let the timer continue to run. They had another 80 seconds before they needed to go back to playing. "I talked to Gumi-nee a little. She said she didn't really care for Miku-nee, but I think she was just saying that. They seem like they were such good friends before now, so she must have missed Miku-nee." A knowing smile was on her face as she nodded at her reasoning. "And the fact that she can call Miku-nee just by her given name is saying something, too—And that she just hits Miku-nee—They're obviously close!"

Len stared at Miki, and simply gave her a 'yeah-that's-definitely-what-I'd-call-normal' smile. "Right… I'm not so sure a punch or two to the face means that they're close," he said slowly. "But if you really think so…"

"Mm!" Miki nodded. She stepped back onto the dance pad and smiled at the younger boy. "I really do think they're really close!"

"Eh. Sure, sure. Maybe they'll end up dating one day," Len joked, with a shrug of his shoulders. "But I think Gumi-nee would kill Miku-nee before then."

Her ahoge twitched as she laughed once more. "I don't think Gumi-nee would ever kill Miku-nee." Her arms reached back as she gripped onto the red support bar. The timer was quickly approaching 0.  
>10… 9… 8… 7… 6…<p>

"Maybe."

"She wouldn't. Miku-nee's too important for her to do that."  
>5… 4…<p>

"Wait—Why are you holding the support bar, Miki-nee?" A clear, nervous tone cut through the boy's voice.  
>3… 2…<p>

"We're playing Maxx 300!"  
>1…. 0.<p>

"WHAT!"

* * *

><p>Gumi stared back at Miku, her green eyes wide from the shock she had just received. Surely this was a joke. Perhaps she had misheard the other girl. There was no way that it could have been a sort of confession? Could it?<br>"Wh-wh-what?" she managed to stammer once she found her voice. "You—Right, I get it, this is a joke." A nervous laugh. "You really had me going, Miku—"

"I wasn't kidding, Gumi-chan." The teal idol gave her friend a smile, but Gumi saw the look in her eyes. Those teal eyes told her that this was a serious conversation. Those teal eyes told her that Miku had told the truth.

Now Gumi really was at a loss for words. What could she possibly say back to Miku? Once upon a time, Gumi may have admitted that she may-have-possibly-sort-of-kinda-maybe had feelings for Miku back then, too. "Uh…_ Ano_… Uhm… _Eto_…." Her mind was simply unable to create a sentence worth saying at the moment. "D-did… You did?"

Miku nodded. "Mhm! I've always liked you, Gumi-chan!" She giggled. "It just took me such a long time to realize it. And it's a shame I didn't do anything about it back then, either," she added as she finished making the curry. The stove was turned off and she turned her back to Gumi to check and see if the rice in the rice cooker was ready to be eaten. "I should have tried to see if you ever liked me."

"Uh… Yeah, I guess, maybe.." Gumi muttered as a blush spread across her cheeks. Well, what should she do about this newfound information? It's not like Miku said she _still_ liked her. So it'd be alright to just put this behind her.

"Ne, ne, Gumi-chan!"

"Huh—Yeah?"

"Try this!"

"…What?" She blinked and stared at the excited girl that stood on the opposite side of the counter.

Miku used the ladle to scoop up some of the curry sauce and a single piece of carrot. With a wide smile on her face, she leaned forward, and held it in front of Gumi's face. "Try it! I want to know if you'd like it."

Gumi stared at the minute amount of curry and the lonely piece of carrot. "Uh… No. I can wait until we eat with everyone else," she said flatly, as she turned her head away from the tempting curry.

"But it smells good, though, right?"

"….. Maybe."

"So, try it, then!"

"If I try it, will you shut up?" Gumi asked, as she gave Miku a sidelong glance.

"Maybe."

The green haired girl sighed, and turned back to face the teal haired girl. She leaned forward with an arm extended to take the ladle. To her surprise, the ladle moved just out of reach. "… Miku, give it to me."

"Ne, ne!" Miku tsk'd, and shook her head. "Say 'ah!'"

"No."

"'Aaaaaahhh!'" Miku repeated once more.

Gumi felt the corner of her eye twitch, but she reluctantly obeyed Miku's ridiculous order. She opened her mouth; and brows furrowed together, she said it. "'Aaaah…" The ladle was carefully tilted towards her mouth, spilling the curry sauce and carrot into it. Once the ladle was removed, she shut her mouth and swallowed the carrot bit and sauce. She blinked a few times, and stared at Miku. "That was actually really—"

"Kyah! _Kawaii!"_ a voice squealed from the kitchen's entrance. "Miku-nee fed Gumi-nee!" Miki let out another squeal.

Miku giggled and waved at the newcomers.  
>Gumi, on the other hand, felt a wave of embarrassment and dread wash over her. She glared at the unwelcomed company.<p>

"Whoa, you're right!" Len's voice chimed in.

Miki looked at Len and smiled at him. "I told you they would end up dating!"

"Wow! I didn't think they'd date!" Rin added as she suddenly appeared beside her younger brother.

"_WHAT?"_ Gumi nearly fell off of the stool. For some _damned_ reason, she could feel her cheeks quickly warm up. "Dating-! No! We're not dating at all!" She spluttered as her eyes widened with horror at the misunderstanding. This horror was only intensified when she saw the blond nod his head in agreement. "No! Tell them we're not dating, Miku!" She looked at the tealette desperately.

Miku looked at the younger Vocaloids. She smiled, and brought her index finger to her lips and winked.

"WHOA! THEY ARE DATING!" Miki, Len, and Rin exclaimed in unison.

The green haired girl felt her temple throb in irritation now. She quickly snatched the ladle from Miku's hand and slammed it down onto the teal haired girl's head. "_BAKA!" _Satisfied with the yelp of pain that Miku issued, she got off of the counter and grabbed a plate of rice and curry. "That never happened, got it?" She demanded, as she glared at the younger teens.

The trio nodded in unison, their eyes staring at the ladle that rested on the counter.  
>Using kitchen utensils as weapons? That was new.<br>They simultaneously looked at Miku, who was rubbing the top of her head with one hand. The tealette noticed their stares, shut one eye, and stuck her tongue out at them. "Oops…" she mouthed at them.

Gumi took her plate and promptly went over to the table. "Oi. Fools, let's eat."

* * *

><p>After their meal, the group had collectively gathered themselves in Miku's room. They were all sprawled out on the floor, each with a content expression on their face. The meal was good, and they were all pleasantly lounging around with full stomachs. Supper had been relatively peaceful once the Kagamines jokes on Gumi's embarrassment over being fed by Miku had been silenced by a spoonful of curry being flung at their faces.<br>Now that they were silently watching TV, Gumi felt that being around this group had become somewhat bearable. That was until Kagamine Rin decided to tell everyone about her great idea.

The blonde girl had scurried out of the bedroom, and came back with her arms behind her back. A wide grin was on her face as she looked at the others. "Guess what I got?"

The group collectively shrugged their shoulders.

Rin produced a bottle of sake and a few of the cups that came with it. "Ta-da!" She looked quite proud to have been able to obtain the alcoholic beverage. Her revelation was met with stunned silence.

"Ano… Rin-chan," Miki began hesitantly, her ruby eyes wide with shock. "How did you get that?"

"Eh? This?" Rin shook the bottle and walked back towards them. She sat back down and twisted the top open. "I nicked it from Meiko-nee's room. She left her door unlocked, and I thought I'd look around—"

"You _stole_ it?" Miki exclaimed with a gasp of disapproval.

"Huh—No! Borrowed," Rin corrected herself quickly. "I meant to say that I borrowed it." She set the cups down and began to fill each one with sake. "Besides, I wanted to try it! Here ya go!" Without giving anyone time to protest, she shoved a cup into everyone's hands.

Gumi stared at the cup of rice wine in her hand and frowned. It smelled awful, and she absolutely despised drunken idiots… But she was a little curious about why Meiko found drinking to be such a wonderful pastime.

Miku simply took her cup with a mixed expression of curiosity and a minute amount of delight. Len, like Gumi, stared at his share looking a little confused. As for the ahoge'd girl, she gulped, unwilling to believe that she was actually going to drink.

"CHEERS!" Rin shouted, before she downed her drink. The others followed suit.

Len, Rin and Miki coughed after they swallowed the alcoholic beverage.  
>"That was gross!" Len whined.<br>"It tasted so—so—I don't like it…" Miki coughed once more, and furiously began to shake her head no.  
>Rin stuck her tongue out and frowned at her empty cup. "Ew…. That was… Ew."<p>

Miku and Gumi looked at one another, then at the younger ones. They didn't have a problem with it.  
>The green haired girl shrugged her shoulders. "It was okay," she said passively. "Nothing amazing…"<br>"Right, right. Just okay," Miku agreed.

The blonde girl pushed the bottle of sake towards Gumi and Miku, still looking thoroughly disgusted. "You two can have it," she said as she shook her head.

Miku pushed the bottle towards Gumi and smiled a little. "I'd rather not drink," she explained. "So Gumi-chan can have it."

Gumi looked at the bottle, shrugged, and poured herself more sake. "Just this one time," she said as she looked at the group. "I'm never drinking again after this." When it was filled, she brought the cup to her lips and drank from it.

The youngest three exchanged mixed looks. The twins were grinning from ear to ear, excited to see Gumi finish an entire bottle of sake on her own. Miki looked absolutely horrified.

"Ne, ne, Gumi-chan," Miku blinked. "Is that such a good idea?"

"I'll be fine." Another serving of sake was downed. And then another. "This isn't that bad, actually… I thought it would taste a lot worse than this." And yet another.

Once more, looks were exchanged. This time it was a single, unified expression.  
>Things were not going to be fine.<p>

"Ano- Shouldn't you slow down, Gumi-nee?" Miki piped up, ruby eyes filled with worry

"NO WAY!" Rin pumped her right fist into the air. "_Ganbare, ganbare!_ Go, go, go, go!"

Len mimicked his sister, but thrust up his left fist. "Yeah! Go, Gumi-nee, go!"

Miku shook her head, and laid down on her couch. Oh yeah. This was going to be a night to remember…

* * *

><p>A few hours and a bottle of sake later, it was time for the group to spilt up and head off to bed. The youngest three stood up and looked at the green haired girl who was lying on her back, the hood of her favorite orange hoodie pulled up to cover her messy green hair. The normally cold, snarky Gumi had a grin on her face as she played with Miku's iPad. "Mou! Look at this picture of this panda, Miki-chaaaan!" She exclaimed, as she burst out into a fit of giggles.<p>

"Is Gumi-nee going to be okay?" Len asked the older girls, as he tried to stifle back a snicker.

Miki sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "Yes… I think," she answered. "Maybe."

Unlike her younger brother who happened to have some sense of self-control, Rin had pulled out her phone and began to record Gumi's drunken outbursts. "This is gold," she snickered to herself. "Pure gold—ah?" The phone was snatched out of her hands, and a teal-polished finger was quick to delete the videos stored within it. "Miku-nee!"

The phone was returned to its owner. "It's not nice to laugh at people when they aren't even sure of what's going on, you know," Miku said, as she went over to Gumi's side. "Don't worry about Gumi-chan, though! I'll take care of her."

Gumi scowled at Miku, her brows creased together. "Eh? No waaaaaay!" She retorted. "I dun—I don't need ya help! I'm a big girl! I can take care-a myself!"

Miku looked at Miki, and nodded for the red head to take the blondes out of the room. Miki obeyed, and quickly ushered the twins out from the bedroom. "Time for bed," she said, as she shut the door behind them. From the other side of the door, whines could be heard from the twins.

The tealette and the greenette were left alone in the room, eyes locked in a staring contest.

"Gumi-chan," Miku said, as she smiled at her friend wearily. "It's getting late. Come on, you can sleep in my bed. There's more than enough room for the both of us."

"No!"

"Please?" A small, pleading pout appeared on the teal haired girl's face.

Gumi pouted back at Miku, and folded her arms across her chest. "Eh… Do we _have_ to share a bed?" she asked, her voice sounding child-like as she began to complain. "I don't want to. I'm not five, ya know!"

Miku took the iPad from Gumi's grasp, and strode towards the bed. She sat down and waved the high-tech device at her friend. "You can have this back if you spend the night in my room. I'll feel better knowing I can keep an eye on you if you're in the same room as me," she explained, even though she was aware that her words may have no meaning to the intoxicated girl.

Emerald eyes watched the iPad move to and fro. Suddenly, the owner of those eyes stood up and staggered over to the bed. As soon as she was close enough, Gumi flopped onto the bed, and reached for the iPad. An eager grin was on her face as she began to play with the apps that had been installed. "Yay~"

"Hehe… Right, well, goodnight then!" Miku said, as she picked up a white controller from her nightstand and pressed a button. The lights in the room were instantly shut off, and the teal haired girl pulled the covers over both herself and her unexpected guest. "If you feel sick, wake me up, okay, Gumi-chan?" she said, before she turned her back to the other girl and closed her eyes.

The green haired girl looked away from the iPad, and looked at the back of Miku's head. "Ya know… Do ya 'member what we were talkin' 'bout before?" Gumi asked, her words slurred together. She set the iPad down and scooted closer to Miku.

Miku felt the mattress shift as Gumi did so, but she thought nothing of it. "Mm, it depends," she answered. "We talked about a lot today. Especially within the last few hours. I think that's the most I have ever heard you talk," she added with a giggle. "Even though it was extremely random, or sometimes a little rude, you said a lot."

"No, no, no, no, no! Not thaaaaat!"

"Then what?" Miku asked, as she laid back onto her back. She turned her head and looked into the emerald orbs beside her.

Gumi immediately latched herself onto Miku's arm, and buried her face into the teal haired girl's shoulder. "When ya said you used ta like me," she answered, her voice somewhat muffled.

"Oh.. Right, what about that?"

"I was jus' wonderin'… Do ya still like me?"

Miku was quiet for a moment as she contemplated on how to respond to the question. For a moment, she was at a loss for words; the question was quite sudden and she certainly was unprepared to answer it. "Mm? Now why would you want to know that?" she asked teasingly, a smile on her face.

Gumi pouted and kept her face buried in Miku's shoulder. "'Cause.. Ya said ya wanted to know if I liked ya back then, right?" she countered. "Well. I decided that I did like ya back then." The intoxicated girl nodded her head once, and relaxed her hug on Miku's arm slightly. "And I think I still do. Or. Maybe. I think."

At this, Miku felt her heart skip a beat. "Ah—R-really?" she asked, feelings her cheeks warm up.

"Uh-huh. But maybe. I said 'maybe', okay?"

"Okay, okay," Miku giggled, and shut her eyes. "Maybe." She felt Gumi nod into her shoulder once more. There was a long stretch of silence as the two contemplated on what to say next. Or, rather, Miku contemplated the day's events while Gumi allowed the alcohol to lull her into a deep sleep. Only when Miku felt Gumi's hug slacken was she sure that her friend was truly asleep. A smile was on her face as she pressed her lips against the sleeping girl's forehead. "I think I might like you, too," she whispered with a quiet giggle. "'Maybe'."

* * *

><p>The next day, Gumi awoke with a painful headache. Light had crept through the curtains, and it irritated her greatly. The girl lay in the bed in silence as she tried to recall what happened last night. It was a futile effort, for she could only remember eating dinner. After that, the rest of the night was a complete blank. She let out a muffled groan as she hesitantly opened one eye. Her field of vision was filled with teal, and it took her a moment to comprehend this.<p>

Teal? Her bed sheets were primarily green and orange in color.  
>This was strange… And stranger still was the fact that she felt arms wrapped around her.<p>

"Eh—Holy shit!" Gumi struggled to sit up, but the arms belonging to Hatsune Miku kept her down. "FUCK! GET OFF OF ME!" she shouted, as she shoved the sleeping girl off of her and off of the bed. It wasn't until after she shouted that Gumi realized that the increased volume of her voice only worsened her headache.

With a thud and a groan of pain, Miku's eyes fluttered opened and she stared up at the furious face of a severely hung over Gumi. "Mou, Gumi-chan," she groaned. "Why did you—mmf?"

A pillow had been brutally thrown into Miku's face, successfully silencing the tealette. "Stay the fuck away from me!" Gumi hissed, her voice barely above a whisper. "Don't sleep in the same bed as me ever again!"

Miku let out another groan, pulled the pillow away from her face and clutched it tightly. "But.. But, we're dating, remember? After all, you do like boys _and _girls."

Although Gumi was still hung over, the embarrassing moment of being fed by Miku jumped to the front of her mind. She snatched another pillow, and flung it down at the smiling face of the tealette.  
>"We're not dating!" she snarled, and winced at the throbbing in her head. "And I don't like girls!"<p>

Out in the hallway, Miki walked by, a red toothbrush shoved in her mouth. She looked at Miku's bedroom door and caught wind of the exchange going on behind the closed door. A smile was on her face as she went back to brushing her teeth. "They're definitely going to date… But I want some cherries right now…"  
>With that, the half-asleep girl made her way to the kitchen, unaware that the toothbrush was still in her mouth.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> Yay! End of chapter 5. XD I hope all of you are enjoying Matryoshka!. :D I have a few ideas planned out for it, so don't expect it to be a short story. But I can tell you it won't be nearly as long as Slice of Life. XD;;;

Anyway, I did have fun writing this chapter, even though it was sort of fluffy… Maybe extremely so. xD; But I enjoyed it. It's different from the drama that's in SoL, that's for sure!

_Reviewer Replies:_

_PaperCutVictim: _XD You're just a comedy addict, man. Hahahah. I love it! :D Man.. We really have covered so much in our PM. I'm not even sure what to say now….. OTL  
>Thank you for reading and reviewing, though! :D Like I tell you all of the time, I'm excited to see more from you!<p>

_Kyouya-chan:_ Ah, really? I hope you have (or had) fun during your autumn break! :D If you like Panda Hero, you might like the song 10-Faced by Gumi. I love it. XP Thank you for reading and reviewing!

_Major Mike Powell III:_ Thank you, sir! I'll do my best to update one of my stories ASAP!

_Lupi-san:_ Thank you so much! ;w; Glad to see that you like the story so far!

.

Ah, that all being said, it was fun to write this chapter. Thank you all for reading, and thank you for reviewing! I love to get some feedback from those who look at my stories! See you in the next chapter!


	6. PokerFace

**Matryoshka!**

**Ch. 6 – PokerFace**

Finally, another chapter of Matryoshka!. I'm really sorry about setting this story aside for a bit while working on SoL, but there was a lot of planning involved with SoL. And then I had a sudden burst of inspiration for a K-ON! fic… Aside from that, I had to focus on my university work for a bit … Okay, I'm done with the excuses. Just know that I'm back with a new chapter for Matryoshka!.

Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the Vocaloids. But the story is mine.

* * *

><p><em>The room was silent and the girl was thankful that there was no one else around to disturb her while she thought in peace. It was odd that she had come to this room in particular, for she had never been one to read. True, Megpoid Gumi did consider herself to be rather intelligent, but it took a lot for a novel to capture her attention. Sitting alone in the expansive library made her hyper aware of just how many books the resident Vocaloids had managed to collectively gather into a single room. Her emerald eyes stared at the bookcases that lined one wall of the Vocaloid's personal library, and she could not get over the fact that these book shelves were floor to ceiling in height. For the most part, many of the shelves were filled with a variety of hardcover and paperbacked books; but Gumi doubted that most of these books had been read. She had a suspicion that a majority of the books were there more for show than for actual reading pleasure. <em>

_Gumi__ walked past the numerous lounge chairs and couches that the room offered. She stood before a bookshelf, a wary expression on her face. The golden plated label informed her that this particular book shelf was hers to use. Her name was branded on that gold plate not in the expected kana writing style of __Japan__, but by Western letterings. She traced her name and shook her head. There was no way she could possibly fill this enormous bookshelf with books. She already had a small book case in her bedroom beside her desk, and even then it was only filled with a few novels and her favorite manga. Even if she moved all of those books into this library, she was sure that they would only take up two of the shelves. It was hard to imagine purchasing more books just to fill up the bookshelf, but it would seem that she may have to do just that. After all, it would seem just a bit odd to see one bookshelf nearly empty while the rest were practically stuffed with books. Although her shelf was mostly empty, she had already begun the process of relocating her books from her room to the library. Emerald eyes glanced over the few books and manga that lined the shelf. _

_A sigh escaped her lips and the goggled girl pressed her forehead against the cool wood. She shut her eyes and frowned slightly to herself. "This is ridiculous," Gumi mumbled to herself. "This room… These book shelves… Everything about this place is ridiculous." The more that she thought about it, the more she regretted even auditioning to become a Vocaloid. She found herself frequently pondering over the reason why she bothered to audition.  
>Wait… Why did she audition?<em>

_Her frown only became larger as she struggled to recall that single reason. What had made her decide to audition? What was it? _

_Eyes remained closed as she struggled to grasp hold of that single thought. That sole reason… _

_Fame? No, that wasn't it. Gumi had never cared for others attention before. Even when she was just "Megpoid Gumi, average high school student", she didn't bother to keep up with what others had thought about her. But this didn't mean that she wasn't aware of her peer's opinions. Apparently they adored her athleticism and that she was an intelligent being. Yet she had continuously turned down every potential suitor that she may have had. _

_Fortune? The green haired girl had never had any monetary problems in her life. Her family belonged to the middle class, and they were financially stable. And even then she never asked for much, or spent too much money, either. _

_Love for music? …..  
>The girl almost snorted at this thought. Yes, she did enjoy singing, and she loved music. But she was pretty damned sure that that wasn't the reason that she had decided to go to through the auditioning process…<em>

_So why had she auditioned? Those seemed to be the only reasons that everyone else had auditioned.  
>What could have possessed her to want to join this ridiculously famous household of talented young singers? <em>

_What was it…_

_Thinking about all of this made Gumi want to smash her head into a wall._

"_Ne, ne, Gumi-chan~" A voice sang as arms wrapped themselves around her waist. Gumi stiffened at the touch, and her eyes shot open. _

"_Wh—Miku, let go!" Gumi hissed as she spun around to face the teal haired girl. In return, she was met with a mischievous grin. And something about that grin was setting off sirens in the green haired girl's mind. She needed to get away from this other girl, and fast. _

_Miku shook her head and pressed her nose against Gumi's. The smile stayed on her face, and she winked at her trapped friend. _

_Gumi could feel her heart rate quicken at the sight of the wink, and she gulped. To her absolute horror, she could feel her cheeks warm from the change in proximity and from the mere fact that they were nose-to-nose. This was ridiculous. She shouldn't be reacting this way…_

"_Of course you're going to act like this!" Miku exclaimed, as if she were a mind reader. "You did tell me that you like me, you know!"_

_Did she say that?  
>Impossible. Absolutely impossible.<br>"Don't be stupid!" Gumi retorted, her emerald eyes narrowed as she continued to glower at the other girl. "Why would I say something like that? I don't like you that way. At all. Ever. Never have, never will."_

"_Ne, ne! You said you liked me, and you have for a while!" The tealette sang, as she rubbed their noses together. "Remember?~"_

_Eskimo kisses? What the __**heck**__ was going on here?_

"_No. Never. I never said that," the green haired girl replied, her tone flat and highly un-amused by the situation at hand. As an act of defiance, she tried to pull her arms out from the iron-like embrace, and was horrified to realize that Miku was stronger than she had seemed. Gumi couldn't free her arms and push Miku off of her._

_Well damn it all._

_The tealette couldn't suppress her giggles. "Mou, Gumi-chan, is it really that bad that I'm hugging you?" she asked. "I thought you'd like it—"_

"_Damare! How could I like being hugged by a buffoon like you—"_

"_When we had that sleepover, you let me hug you, remember?" Miku pointed out, her smile becoming a triumphant smirk. "And then that night we all drank __**you**__ hugged __**me. **__Cuddle, cuddle!"_

_Cuddle?  
>Gumi felt her eye twitch. "I would never do something like that—? !"<em>

_The snarky green haired girl was silenced by a pair of lips pressed against her own. Emerald eyes widened as she felt her face become hot. Every cell in her brain was telling her to shove Miku away. Her training in kickboxing and the few weeks she spent learning a few types of martial arts told her to jab her knee into the other girl's stomach. Everything about Gumi was telling her to beat the shit out of this teal haired, twin tailed buffoon. This was the buffoon who dared to cross certain boundaries that had been well established prior to this event. _

_Every part of Gumi was screaming in protest; both her mind and her body.  
>Except for her heart…<em>

_The green haired girl frowned slightly before returning the other girl's kiss. Irritation and the need for dominance grasped Gumi as she finally managed to pry her arms free. With a growl, she wrapped an arm around Miku's waist and pulled her close. Her free hand went up to the nape of the teal haired girl's neck and Gumi deepened the kiss. She felt the other girl smile at this new development, and nearly jumped when a cool hand slipped beneath her shirt and over her toned stomach—_

"AH- OOF!" Gumi flailed her arms wildly as she slipped from the couch and onto the floor of the library. The book that she had been reading prior to falling asleep slipped from the arm rest of the couch and smacked her in the middle of the forehead. She groaned, and rubbed her forehead, one eye closed from pain. A few salty tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she let out another grunt from the mild pain and shock she had received.

What kind of dream was that?

The green haired girl sat up and snatched up the offending book. A sour expression was painted on her face as she stared at the hardcover novel. It wasn't often that she read for leisure, but she had decided to give the library a try, simply because she was aware that the other residents failed to frequent the quiet room. Silence was something to be desired in this rambunctious household. The search for silence wouldn't have been so difficult if she had been left alone in her room like she had originally desired. But even her room would be intruded upon by the hyperactive twins, or her purple haired _Onii-san_. And (she clenched her teeth) even Hatsune Miku would burst into her room, declaring that it was now "playtime."

_Playtime?_ Were they five or something?  
>Gumi had come to realize that this was how Miku announced when she wanted someone to entertain her. Or, at least, that's the only way she addressed Gumi upon entering her room. After asking around, Gumi found that Miku would go through the customary knocking of the bedroom door to see if it was alright to enter someone else's room. So it was only Gumi's room that was repeatedly intruded upon unwarrantedly.<p>

With a sigh, the short haired girl stood up and crossed the room to reach her bookshelf. Just like in her dream, her bookshelf was pretty empty, but held a few of her books. Gumi slipped the novel in her hand onto its proper place on the bookshelf. That teal haired housemate of hers was becoming ridiculously unbearable. Not only had Gumi woken up last week with a _horrible_ hangover, but she had woken up to the face of Hatsune Miku. And what bothered the green haired girl the most was the fact that she simply could _not_ remember what had happened that night. The only thing she was able to recall was Kagamine Rin pulling out a bottle of sake out of nowhere…

But what was with Miku when they were in the kitchen? That sudden confession…  
><em>"I realized I liked you after that weekend."<em>  
>That's what Miku had said, right? While she was cooking?<br>It really did seem like Miku had meant every word that she had said. So where did things between them? Wait, she was jumping the gun here. Miku had never said that she still liked Gumi, right? So, maybe there was nothing more to it. Maybe Miku was just letting Gumi know that she had had feelings for her in the past.

But what about herself? Did _Gumi_ like Miku?  
>Well… Maybe back then she did. Or maybe she didn't like Miku that way when they were in school together.<br>Or…  
>Geez, this was giving her a headache.<p>

Gumi groaned, and walked away from the bookshelf. If she kept thinking over these things, she was sure to make her headache worse. Maybe it would help if she were to talk to someone about it? That seemed reasonable. Talking to people about one's problems was supposed to help alleviate stress, or so she had heard. The girl opened the door to the library and stepped out into the hallway. Hands shoved into her jeans pocket's, she walked down the long hall, wondering who would be best to talk to.

Once more, she found herself ticking down the list of residents of the mansion.

The Kagamine Twins? No way in _hell_ was she going to talk to them about her feelings. And she doubted that they would be able to give her some decent input on what exactly was going on with Miku, let alone herself…. Scratch that. The twins probably had no idea who the Prime Minister was of Japan.

Gakupo-nii? No.

Kaito? Negative.

Meiko? ….

That left either Luka or Miki.

Gumi mused over her remaining two options. As calming and gentle as Megurine Luka maybe, Gumi was positive that the elder girl was not entirely close to Miku. Therefore, she would be unable to explain the knowing grin on Miku's face.  
>Which left her with her last beacon of hope, Furukawa Miki.<p>

The green haired girl sighed as she walked by the mansion's ornate double staircase. She paused, her nose twitching at the aroma that had suddenly filled the air. _Cookie… And cake? Carrot cake._ Like a dog, she followed her nose, quickly heading down the staircase towards the mansion's expansive kitchen. She could hardly contain herself as she imagined biting into one of those delicious smelling cookie. Even a slice of carrot cake would suffice. She was a sucker for a well-baked carrot cake or a chocolate chip cookie. And just smelling them in the house was making her drool. Eager to try these sweets, her pace doubled and she was nearly running into the kitchen.

"Kyaa! Miki-chan, am I doing this right?"

"Mm? Ah, yes! Just be careful when you mix the cookie dough."

Oh no.  
><em>Seriously? !<em>

Gumi nearly tripped over her own feet at the sound of that voice. Of _course_ it had to be Miku baking the cookies. Never mind that Miki was there.  
>Someone up there had it in for Gumi, she was sure of it.<p>

"Gumi-chan!" Miku sang, when she realized that her and Miki were no longer alone. Wrapped in one arm was a large bowl, and a wooden spoon in her other hand. A patch of flour marred her cheek, making her look every bit like a five year-old helping their mother bake cookies as an afternoon treat. "Look! I'm making your favorites!"

Miki, Gumi noted, looked absolutely surprised to hear this. The youngest girl turned her red eyes to look up at the cheekily grinning Miku. "Huh? Gumi-nee likes sweets?" she asked, a little confused. "She never struck me as the type to enjoy them—Ah, n-not that that's a bad thing!" She gave Gumi a frantic, apologetic look. "I was just—Uhm, it's not bad to have a sweet tooth… Or… to not like sweets-..."

The green haired girl held a hand up to silence the panic stricken girl. "It's fine, Miki-chan," she said. Her emerald eyes zeroed in on the teal haired girl. "If you're the one baking them, then I don't want to try it. I'll probably die from food poisoning."

"I don't think you can get food poisoning from cake and cookies," Miku pointed out with a giggle.

"I'm sure you'd find a way to make it happen," Gumi retorted. A scowl was on her face simply because she refused to try anything that Miku had a hand in baking. Okay. So the curry that Miku had made for dinner the other night _was_ pretty good… But that doesn't mean that the tealette would be able to _bake…_

Noticing the wary expression on Gumi's face, Miki decided to throw her two cents in. "Ah, Gumi-nee, I helped make them," she explained. "The cake and cookies, I mean. Miku-nee asked me to teach her how to bake, so—"

"What? She _asked_ you?" Gumi repeated in disbelief. She looked at the nodding redhead to the still grinning twin tailed girl.

"Yes, she did."

If Miki had a hand in this… Maybe it would be safe to try some cake. Her emerald eyes looked over the carrot cake that had been left sitting on the cake tray. The sight of the cake, coupled with its sweet aroma, told Gumi to reconsider her initial refusal of the baked treats. Didn't Miku say that she had made them just for Gumi herself?

…

Maybe one slice of cake wouldn't hurt.

Miku was quick to see Gumi's hardened expression soften during her mental battle. "Gumi-chan~ You should have a slice of cake," she urged, as she continued to mix the cookie dough. "Carrot cake's your favorite, right?"

"Huh—Uh—Yeah, it is," Gumi was reluctant to admit this.

"Yay! Then you should have some cake!"

"… Fine." The short haired girl took a seat on one of the high-seats that were provided for the kitchen's island bar. She glared at Miku with her emerald eyes, vaguely aware of Miki hurrying to find a plate and cake cutter. "How'd you know it was my favorite? I never really ate any sweets when we hung out before."

The teal haired girl tilted her head slightly to one side, her grin subsiding into a smile. "Because… Even though you were never really fond of sweets, I remember you always ordering a slice of cake from the bake shop that was across the street from our high school," she answered. "We only went a few times, but when we did go, you always got carrot cake. And sometimes you'd break off a piece of one of my cookies."

Gumi stiffened at this.

"So, after a while, I sort of figured that carrot cake had to be your favorite… And that you had a sort of weakness for chocolate cookies." The smile on Miku's face widened a little bit.

Miki set the plate containing the slice of cake down before Gumi, and placed a fork beside the slice. Gumi nodded her head in thanks before she picked up the silver fork. "Huh… I didn't think you were that observant," she mused, before she scooped up a piece of the carrot cake. She put It in her mouth, surprised to find the cake to be so delicious. Moist and fluffy… And not too sweet. Exactly the way Gumi liked it.

With a laugh, Miku waved the wooden spoon around. "Of course! I paid attention to you a lot, you know!" she added, before she went back to mixing the dough. "You're my best friend, back then and now. Of course I paid attention to you!"

The fork was still in Gumi's mouth when she stopped and stared at the tealette across from her. For some _damned_ reason, Gumi could feel her cheeks heat up as a light blush played across her features. "Uh… Right…" She muttered around the fork, before she removed it and took off another piece from her cake. "That's… Great, I think?" She shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating her cake.

"Un!" Miku nodded eagerly. "And I remember that you drink your coffee black, and that you don't really like green tea… Which must make you un-Japanese," she added thoughtfully. "Everyone loves green tea!"

Gumi rolled her eyes. "Shut up and bake your cookies."

"Mou, why're you always so blunt when you talk to me?"

"Because you're annoying and you don't understand anything."

"That's not true!"

"It's very true." The green haired girl chomped down on another piece of cake.

Miki smiled a little bit as she watched the interaction between the two in silence. She took a seat beside the green haired girl, ruby eyes watching the clashing pair in delight. Even if Gumi tended to slap Miku across the face every now and again, it was clear that Gumi wasn't completely opposed to being friends with the teal haired idol. Maybe Gumi didn't realize it, but the green haired girl had a calming effect on the teal idol. Prior to Gumi's arrival, everyone had grown accustomed to Miku's secretive ways and her habit of dodging personal questions. Aside from that, Miku had only smiled politely, and a genuine smile was rare to see. But now that Gumi was living with them in the mansion as an official Vocaloid, Miku's smiles became more lighthearted and pure. It was obvious to the rest of the household (except the twins and possibly Meiko, since Meiko tended to be intoxicated half of the time) that this change in the most famous Vocaloid was a direct result of Gumi's presence. "Oh, Gumi-nee, you really are amazing," she thought to herself out loud.

"Mmf?" Gumi blinked and looked at Miki. She had just shoved the fork in her mouth, and her plate was now spotless. "Hmf hoo fay fomfin'?" Miki noted that crumbs from the cake speckled the snarky girl's cheeks.

Miku giggled. "I think she said, 'Did you say something', Miki-chan," she translated, ignoring the glare she received from Gumi.

"Ah—No, nothing!" Miki said quickly, a little embarrassed that she had spoken aloud. "Ano—I was wondering about this for a while now, but what were you two like when you were in school together?" she asked, as she put both elbows up onto the countertop, her head resting in her open palm. An innocent and curious smile was on her face as she gazed at the green and teal girls expectantly.

Gumi choked on the last bit of cake when she heard the question. She was quick to pound on her chest and expel the offending piece from her throat. "Holy shi—Why do you wanna know that—"

"Aaaaah! School? !" Miku exclaimed. "School was so much fun with Gumi-chan!"

The green haired girl frowned, and rubbed at her throat, still coughing from the pain. "Let's not revisit those days," she snapped, attempting to shut down the topic before it could go any further.

Miku smiled and tapped the tip of Gumi's nose with the dough covered spoon. "Ne, ne! They're not bad stories!" A smile was on her face when she noticed the spot of dough that had stuck to Gumi's nose.

"High school is over." Gumi was completely unaware of said dough.

"We're technically still in high school—"

"You know what I meant!"

"Ano, does this mean I can't hear a story?" Miki asked, somewhat confused. "I mean… It's alright if you don't want me to hear a story because it's too embarrassing…" If this was how the pair was going to react, Miki wouldn't have asked the question to begin with.

Gumi let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Then we won't talk about it." She cupped her head in one hand and gave Miku a sidelong glance. "Right, stupid?"

There was a long stretch of silence as Miki and Gumi waited for Miku to answer.

The tealette blinked a few times.

"… Right?" Gumi repeated.

"Mm.. So, you wanna know how Gumi-chan and I first met?" Miku asked, as she[0 began to scoop some of the onto the cookie baking sheet.

"YES!"

"NO!"

"OKAY!" The tealette giggled before diving into her story. "Let's see… It must've been the first or second day of school…. No, no, first day!"

Gumi's put her head in her hands, and groaned.  
><em>Fuck my life.<em>

* * *

><p>She sprinted through the gates of the school, a slice of toast crammed into her mouth. Gumi pushed the sleeve of her off-white blazer up and glanced at the orange watch on her wrist. 8:55. She was pushing it here. Class started promptly at 9, and she still had to see what class she had been sorted into. Her maroon skirt fluttered in the wind as she continued her mad sprint.<p>

What a lousy way to start the first day of the first year of high school.  
>But at least she had remembered to put on the proper uniform; white blazer, white blouse, maroon skirt, maroon ribbon, black knee high socks.<br>Okay. So her mom had been the one to remind her, but still.

With the back of her hand, she pressed the red goggles up on her head, hoping that they would stay still. "Crap, crap, crap," she groaned. As soon as she entered the building, she quickly threw open her shoe locket, took off her shoes, and donned the pair of brown loafers that were part of the uniform. With another grunt, she shoved her way through the mob of people standing in front of the listings of class rosters. "Where's my name, where's my name—Class 1C. Great." Without apologizing, Gumi forced her way back through the crowd and sprinted up the stair cases.

Another glance at her watch.  
>8:58.<p>

Damn this school for giving the seniors the first floor. Damn this school for giving the second years the first floor. Damn this school for putting the first years on the _third_ floor.

She rounded the corner to the top of the stairs, and spotted the sign for her class…  
>At the end of the freaking hall.<p>

"I HATE THIS SCHOOL!" Gumi roared as she went into overdrive. Her emerald eyes narrowed as she approached the door, and failed to realize that a teal haired girl stood just outside of the open door to class 1C.

_Ding…. Ding… Ding…_  
>The bell to the school signaling the start of class.<p>

"SCREEEEW SCHOO—OOF!"

"Kyaaa!"

The two collided and fell into the class room, both sprawled out on their stomachs. Immediately the classroom burst into a fit of laughter at the sight of the two fallen girls. "Of course _Hatsune-san_ would be late to class—But making an entrance like _that?_" The boy nearest to the door snorted, and pointed at the twin-tailed girl that Gumi had ran into. "Geez, she's a klutz, isn't she? ! _Baka!_"

"Keep laughing at her, and I'll knock you out," Gumi hissed as she pushed herself up and glared at the boy icily, successfully causing the poor boy on the receiving end of such an intense glare to instantly shut his mouth. Whoever this kid was deserved a punch to the face. It wasn't this Hatsune's fault that she fell into the classroom. She glanced over at the teal haired girl that slowly sat up. Looks like the other girl was fine.  
>Cool. No lawsuits to worry about.<p>

_Cough._

Both of the tardy girls looked up at the teacher that stood before them, arms folded across his chest. In his hand was the manila folder containing the class roster. "You're both late," He said flatly. "On the first day of school, no less."

"B-But—I was—" the girl beside Gumi stammered, her teal eyes wide.

Gumi shrugged. Today was already sucking. She doubted things could get any worse. "Eh."

The teacher continued to frown down at them. He pointed at a spot past the two girls, where buckets lined the wall. "It's a good thing I had the foresight to fill these. Each of you take two and stand out in the hallway until the end of homeroom," the teacher instructed, before ushering the girls out of the room. The door closed, and the two girls were left alone in the empty hallway.

"Geez, what a pain…" Gumi muttered, as she lifted up her buckets and shifted her stance slightly. With a frustrated puff of air, she blew her bangs away from her eyes, and stared up at the ceiling. "High school already sucks."

A sigh came from beside her, and she glanced over to see that the other girl had slipped into place beside her. It would seem that the other girl was slightly distraught with what had just occurred, and Gumi couldn't really blame her. It _was_ the first day of school. They _were_ late to class. The _entire_ classroom had just laughed at them for falling face first into the room. And now they both had to hold onto these damned heavy buckets of water.  
>Although…<br>Making Hatsune the laughing stock of the class was Gumi's fault.

"Er…" The green haired girl looked at Hatsune uneasily, feeling a little awkward that she was the first to break the silence. "Sorry about running into you like that." Her apology was pathetic, and Gumi knew it. But that didn't mean that she wasn't going to at least try and show the other girl that she was sorry about what had just occurred. "I woke up really late, so I basically ran here from my house." An uncomfortable laugh. "I didn't realize you were standing right there."

The other girl had her head bent slightly down, eyes focused on the floor.

'_Huh… Guess she doesn't wanna talk,'_ Gumi thought to herself, with a shrug of her shoulders.  
>Whatever.<br>She said sorry and her conscious was now clear.

A few more minutes of silence passed, and it was beginning to unnerve Gumi. Normally silence would be welcomed. But this… Was ridiculous. This other girl should have at least said _something_ by now. Even a "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU RAN INTO ME!" would have sufficed. But no. Hatsune hadn't said a word since they were unceremoniously dumped out into the hallway with buckets in tow.  
>Maybe this girl was the silent type? The type to plot out her revenge on any offenders in secret? Gumi could see it now. The newspapers would run wild, publishing a tale about how a green haired girl had been found dead on a riverbank, or something of that sort. The corners of her mouth twitched and she snorted.<br>Yeah, right. Hatsune seemed completely harmless.

"Why did you do that?"

Gumi raised a brow, unsure if she had actually heard words leave the teal girl's mouth. "Eh?"

"Why did you do that?" Hatsune repeated, as she looked at Gumi, a loaded expression on her face. Confusion, maybe?

"I told you already," the green haired girl sighed impatiently. She really hated having to repeat herself. "I was running late, and I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. So I ran into you—"

"No, that's not what I mean," the other girl shook her head, and frowned slightly. "When that guy started saying those things about me… You didn't have to say anything, but you did. So… Why did you do that?"

_Oh. That._  
>"Er…" The corner of Gumi's mouth tilted down slightly. She turned her emerald eyes away from the waiting girl, and mumbled her answer under her breath.<p>

"… S-sorry?"

_Sigh._  
>"I said I just hate people like that," Gumi said more clearly. "Assholes like that deserve to get punched in the face. He had no right to go and say shit like that." She shrugged her shoulders, and looked out the windows. "Plus… It looked like you weren't going to say anything to him. And, no offense, but it kinda looked like you might've ended up crying or something."<p>

Hatsune stared at Gumi, speechless.

When the other girl said nothing, Gumi took this as a sign to continue. "Look, I just hate when stuff like that happens, okay? No one deserves to get ridiculed like that, so a punch in the face would've been letting him off easy," she huffed.

"Ah… Okay," the teal haired girl nodded slowly, and smiled slightly. "That's… Probably one of the nicest things anyone's done for me."

"Huh?"

"Stand up for me, I mean," Hatsune clarified. "None of my friends made it into this high school, but a couple of the guys that picked on me in middle school are here."

"Like that ass?"

"Ah—Yeah, like him." The teal haired girl nodded. "My friends in middle school told me to just ignore them, but none of them ever said anything to those guys… So… Thank you." She smiled a genuinely happy smile at the green haired girl.

Gumi stiffened a little, unaccustomed to hearing such pure, uncensored words. "Uh… Yeah.. No problem-… Er…," she mumbled, cheeks flushing slightly from embarrassment when she realized she didn't know the other girl's name, aside from her last name. And was she even sure she heard that ass call her 'Hatsune'? Or maybe it was '_Hachune'_?

The other girl giggled at the flustered expression that had made its way onto Gumi's face. "Miku. Hatsune Miku."

"Miku-san…" Gumi tested the name out, and nodded slowly. "I'm Megpoid Gumi."

"Nice to meet you, Gumi-chan!"

The green haired girl twitched. 'Chan'? Wasn't that a bit too familiar? They had just met… But somehow the nickname felt right coming from this teal haired girl. It fit her image, she supposed. Maybe it was because Miku seemed so innocent. Or something like that.  
>"Yeah.. Nice to meet you, too, Miku-san."<p>

"Chan."

"…What?"

"Miku-chan," the teal haired girl corrected. "Mou, if we're going to be friends, you can call me 'Miku-chan'!"

Gumi stared at the other girl, and suppressed a laugh. She smiled slightly and shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, yeah.. Whatever. Miku-chan, then. Nice to meet you."

* * *

><p>"…And from then on, we've been inseperable!" Miku ended her story with a grandiose wave of the wooden ladle. The cookie sheet had been filled to its capacity, and promptly shoved into the oven to bake. Which left Miku to talk about her fateful meeting with an irked greenette.<p>

"Aaaah!" Miki squealed and clapped her hands together. "Even back then Gumi-nee was so cool!" She smiled at Gumi, who had remained completely still through the entire story. "You're like a knight in shining armor, Gumi-nee!"

At this, Gumi lifted her head up, only to stare at Miki with narrowed emerald eyes. "A _knight?_" she repeated in disbelief.

"Yes! So cool!" Miki continued to gush.

"I know! She's really amazing, isn't she?" Miku chimed in with a giggle. "Oh! And I have another story!"

Gumi felt her eye twitch. "What story are you—"

"So, one day….!"

* * *

><p>The pair stood on the track, both wearing their gym clothes. The short haired girl had her arms folded across her chest, her emerald eyes staring at the cheekily grinning tealette before her. "Oi, take this seriously if you wanna make it through the three kilometer run tomorrow," she snapped, as she rolled her eyes. "It's part of the physical exam—"<p>

"Mou, Gumi-chan," Miku whined. "I'm not good at sports like you are! I'm pretty good with school…" A finger went up. "I can sing." A second finger. "And dance." A third finger… "But sports? Not so much."

Gumi shook her head. "Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively. "I know that. Look. Can we just go for our practice run now?"

"Eeeeh?" The teal haired girl's grin faded slightly, and she scratched at her cheek. With a sidelong glance to her trainer, she shrugged her shoulders. "Do we really have to do this?"

"Yes. Now let's go." Without waiting for Miku, Gumi began to jog away, easily slipping into a comfortable pace for herself. She was pretty athletic, and the sports clubs had been begging her to join when they realized that she was quick to pick up on skills, and that her scores for physical education were always exceptional. But in the end, Gumi had turned down every club, deciding that being a part of the 'Go Home' club was more important. Oh, how she loved having her afternoons free.

She was dimly aware of the teal haired girl who had managed to catch up to her. Her emerald eyes glanced over at her companion, and the corners of her mouth twitched into a small smile. Miku jogged beside Gumi, a look of pure concentration plastered onto her face. It would seem that despite all of Miku's complaining, the girl was determined to make it through the practice run and prove her worth during the actual run tomorrow.

After several minutes of whining, Gumi felt a tug on the sleeve of her red tracksuit. "Eh?" She looked at Miku. A sweatdrop went down the back of her head as she stared at the pitiful expression that was painted onto the teal haired girl's face. "Oi… You seriously can't be tired already-! !"

"MOU!" Miku groaned as she slumped down onto her knees, figuring that this was a good a place as any to stop. "Can we take a break? !"

Gumi turned around, and jogged in place. "No. Now get your lazy ass up and let's move—"

"But I'm so _tired!"_

"Suck it up."

"Gumi-chaaaaan…"

The green haired girl rolled her eyes, turned around, and continued to jog onwards, leaving Miku alone.

"…. Mou, Gumi-chan! You're so meeeaaaaan!"

Gumi rounded the corner and disappeared from the teal haired girl's sight.

"… G-Gumi-chan?"

No response.

Miku sighed, and stayed where she was, alone on the sidewalk. She pushed her bangs back with one hand and pouted. It was one thing to joke around about the mini marathon, but for Gumi to actually _abandon_ her?  
>It really bothered her… Especially since Miku hated to be alone after meeting Gumi. The green haired girl had been the only person to ever stand up for her, and Miku couldn't help but attach herself to the short-tempered girl, whether she liked it or not.<br>But being left alone made Miku hyperaware of the stares that she received from cars that passed by, as well as those from the occasional pedestrian. It was uncomfortable.

Wait… Where _was_ she?

The teal haired girl felt her heartbeat quicken as she frantically looked around, hoping to find a recognizable landmark. No… She had no idea where she was, and her eyes widened in panic.

This wasn't good… And she had given her cell phone to Gumi to hold onto because she was afraid that her phone would slip out of her pocket. And without a phone, she wouldn't be able to call Gumi to ask for directions. Without Gumi, she wouldn't have anyone to watch out for her.

Oh God. What if there was a pervert in this neighborhood, and he came by and kidnapped her? ! Gumi would never know, her parents wouldn't know—

"Boo."

"**KYAAAAAAAA! ! !** **PERVERT!"** Miku screamed as she threw a punch at the voice that came from beside her. Only after her fist collided with her potential attacker did she turn to see who she had hit.

"Ow… What the _hell_, Miku? !" Gumi snapped, as she rubbed her cheek, a sour expression on her face.

Miku opened and closed her mouth incoherently. "Ah—G-Gumi-chan—I didn't—Oh—I thought you were—Perverts—Kidnapping…." She began to mumble, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

The green haired stared at her in disbelief.

"I thought I was going to be kidnapped," Miku said quietly, her teal eyes focusing on the sidewalk beneath her. "Because… I don't know where I am, and I got scared. And it was scarier because you weren't here…"

Gumi sighed, and stood up straight, hands shoved into the pockets of her tracksuit jacket. "Yeah? Well, we're in my neighborhood," she stated matter-of-factly. "So there's no need to worry, okay?"

"..Un.."

"C'mon. I already stopped by my house, and my mom said you can have dinner with us," Gumi said, as she held a hand out to Miku, the irritated expression wiped off of her face. She gave the teal haired girl a rare smile. "They're pretty excited to meet you, since I talk about you a lot."

Miku looked at Gumi's hand, and then met the gaze of those emerald eyes. "Ah—R-really? You talk about me? What do you say? That I'm amazing?" she asked, giggling a little bit. There was a mischievous glint to her eyes. "And taking me home to meet your parents? This is so sudden! But, ah… _Kawaii~ _I hope they'll approve of me!_"_

"Eh—No! Not like that!" Gumi's face instantly became scarlet. Her hand retreated and returned to her jacket pocket. "Never mind! Don't come over!" She snapped, as she began to walk down the road towards her house.

The teal haired girl continued on with her fit of mirth before she stood up and followed the green haired girl. "Gumi-chan, I'm just kidding~" she sang, as she latched onto the other girl's arm.

Gumi mumbled something, and looked away.

Confused, Miku looked at Gumi. Her smile widened when she noticed that the blush on her best friend's face had only intensified.  
><em>Interesting.<em>  
>"I'm glad you came back for me, though," Miku said happily. "I was really freaking out—"<p>

"I know," Gumi mumbled, still avoiding eye contact with the girl attached to her arm.. "I thought it'd be fun to mess with you, but I felt kinda bad when I came back around and saw that you looked like you were going to cry." She snorted, and looked at Miku from the corner of her eye.

"Ah! But you came back, and you would've fought off any pervert that would have tried to kidnap me and take away my chastity!"

"…Excuse me?"

"You're like a knight, Gumi-chan!" Miku gushed, as she rubbed her cheek into Gumi's shoulder. "A knight coming to protect their princess!" Her teal eyes gazed up at the green haired girl, waiting for Gumi to promptly shove her off and call her an idiot.

Instead, Gumi's eyes widened slightly, and her face completely burst into a full on blush. "That—Ridiculous—Don't say stupid things!" She stammered, as she looked away from Miku. Gumi could feel her heart pounding in her chest.  
><em>Damn that heart.<em>  
>She ignored it, trying her best to squash down any sort of <em>feelings<em> that she may have at the moment. There's no way in hell something like that could happen.

Liking your best friend?

Impossible.

Miku giggled once more. "Mou, are you embarrassed?"

"Shut up!" Gumi snapped, before she pushed open the gate to her house. The blush from her face was fading, and she was sure that it would be gone by the time she unlocked the front door."Just shut up and don't look stupid in front of my parents!"

"Can I tell them that I love you—"

"No! No! Just—Sit there and look pretty and eat your food. Don't say anything!"

"Hehehe~ Okay, I'll be good, I promise."

"You better." Gumi glowered at Miku.

The two stared at one another. Simultaneously, they realized how close their faces were, and they both blushed. Heart beats quickened the longer they held the gaze.

"Ah, Gumi-chan!" The front door opened and Gumi's mother stood in the doorway. "You're back! And this must be Miku-chan!"

The two instantly jumped apart, Gumi's face darker than her best friends. "Uh—Yeah… Okaa-san, this is Miku. Miku, this is my mother.."

* * *

><p>Gumi's head slammed into the countertop of the island. "ARE WE DONE TALKING ABOUT THIS? !" She shouted, ignoring the pain that burst from her forehead due to the impact.<p>

Miku giggled and nodded. "I guess I can stop there. After that, all we did was eat dinner and have small talk," she summed up the end of the story to Miki. "Her parents are very nice people."

Miki nodded, the smile on her face as bright as a thousand suns. It was almost blinding to look at. "Kyaaa! That's so cool! Gumi-nee could be a knight! And Miku-nee was like a damsel in distress—_Kawaii desu ne!_"

Gumi sighed. She was suddenly wishing that she had never ran into Miku on that first day of high school. Listening to these stories were absolutely mortifying. She felt a hand affectionately play with her hair. A twitch of irritation shot through her body, and she was about to smack the offending hand until she realized how soothing it was.

"See? You can calm Gumi-chan down like this," Miku said, with an easy going smile on her face. "She usually falls asleep if you do this for a while, though."

"Really?" Miki gasped.

"Really."

"Oi… Shut up," Gumi muttered, a slight frown on her face. "Don't tell people stuff like that…" She yawned and waved away Miku's hand. The girl sat up, and hopped off of her seat. "I'm leaving."

Miku couldn't help but grin. "Sorry, sorry," she apologized. "But you don't have to leave because of that! Or, are you embarrassed because of the stories?"

"Shut up!"

"You're embarrassed!"

"I'm leaving!"

"Kyaaa~ Gumi-chan, come back!"

"Gumi-nee! Don't be embarrassed! Those stories were so cute!" Miki chimed in, much to Gumi's annoyance. "They just made you super cool!"

A vein throbbed in Gumi's temple, and the green haired girl could feel another headache coming on. Great. It seems like she couldn't talk to Miki about Miku if she was joining Miku with these comments. Ignoring the pleas of the other two girls, she promptly headed back upstairs, deciding to go to her room. The door to her bedroom was thrown open, slammed shut, and Gumi hurled herself onto her bed.

A nap.

That would be best.

Her eyes fluttered shut and she fell asleep almost immediately…

* * *

><p>When Gumi awoke nearly an hour later, she was met with a unfamiliar scent. The girl sat up in bed, her nose twitching. Emerald eyes looked over at her desk, where a foreign object sat. She got up and immediately crossed the room, zeroing in on the new addition to her room.<p>

On her desk sat a plate and fork, with a slice of carrot cake and two chocolate chip cookies. Beside the tray was a folded piece of paper with her name scrawled upon it.

Slightly confused, Gumi picked the paper up and unfolded it. Her eyes read over the words on the page, and she snorted.

"_Thank you for always being there for me.  
>You're the best! (^o^) I love you!<br>-M"_

"Stupid kid," Gumi muttered to herself, as she crumpled the note up and threw it over her shoulder. She was about to turn away, but she gave the sweets one last glance. Mentally slapping herself for this, Gumi picked the fork up, and scooped up another piece of the carrot cake. The piece was put into her mouth, and she smiled slightly.

It seemed that the cake tasted even better this time around.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>WHOA. It's been nearly a month since I've updated Matryoshka!. OTL I'm so sorry for the epic delay… I'm out of excuses, so you're free to yell at me for making you wait.

And on a side note.. I noticed that my other two stories... When I updated them, they both opened up with a dream sequence as well. I can assure you, I was not planning on releasing all three updates for my three stories so close to one another. XD And I was definitely **not** planning on all three of them having a dream sequence... I didn't realize that that had happened until I uploaded this chapter of Matryoshka!. I sat at my computer and went "... Well, gee."  
>Whoops.<p>

_Reviewer Replies:_

_PaperCutVictim:_ XD Rin's always been a troublemaker in my book, and you already know how I feel about Miki. LOL. As for Miku, yeah, I always thought she would be a bad cook who improved over time, though. I think I'd feel bad for her if she had to live by herself and just couldn't cook at all. But thanks for the support! :D

_Thyrokio:_ Oh, Meiko. XP Maybe she will notice… Or maybe she's too drunk to ever notice that it's missing? Who knows! And yes, Miki.. hahaha. I've actually done that before. Not realize that I had my toothbrush in my mouth.. I ended up going downstairs to eat breakfast, and my dad just stared at me.  
>Thanks for your support, though!<p>

_Major Mike Powell III: _XDDD Geez, you really don't like Len. LOL. But it's okay, I think it's funny that you laugh whenever he has a fail moment in one of my stories! :D Thanks for your support!

.

Thank you all for your support! It's nice to know that people can read the story and get a few laughs from it. Any reviews or PM with some advice on my writing would be great!

Okay. Time to do some last minute studying and I'm off to chemistry.. And then to my oral speaking exam for Japanese.

I'll see you all in the next chapter! Take care!


	7. SPiCa

**Matryoshka!**

**Ch. 7 – SPiCa**

I'm extremely sorry about the ridiculously long delay. My final exams and papers had kept me from writing. X_x And lately Tumblr's been extremely distracting… And this mountain of books piled next to my bed… And my friends wanting to hang out all of the time… And then road trips…

Okay. I'll stop now and write.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vocaloids. 'kay, cool.

* * *

><p>"What—"<p>

"Oh, hey! I've been waiting for you~"

"Take that off right now."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Mou, Gumi-chan—"

"Take it off, Miku."

"But—You shouldn't—"

"_Take it off! Right. Now!"_

"I didn't know you wanted me so badly, Gumi-chan~"

"What—Sh-Shut up! Just take it off already!"

The irked greenette felt a vein in her temple throb. Her patience was quickly thinning, and she wasn't sure she could remain composed for much longer. The request she had made had been simple, and it should have been easy for Miku to follow.  
>All she had to do was take off her clothes.<p>

Emerald eyes narrowed when she saw that the tealette before her only gave a cheeky smile in response. It was as if the tealette knew that Gumi would lose her cool if the situation was to be held out for much longer. And just _looking_ at Miku was beginning to test Gumi's patience.

Seeing Miku in that outfit…

Gumi wanted nothing more than to get Miku out of those clothes.

Sensing that her high school friend was becoming quiet distressed, the teal haired pop star seized the moment to continue her teasings. The smile on her face morphed into a smirk as Miku closed the space between Gumi and herself. One of her slender arms wrapped around the startled greenette's neck as she pressed her body against Gumi's. With her free hand, she clutched onto the fabric of Gumi's dark gray t-shirt. "Mou, Gumi-chan, if you _wanted_ me, you could have just said something~" she purred, delighted to see how easy it had become to fluster the normally high-strung girl.  
>In all honesty, she had only donned the outfit to annoy Gumi, but seeing Gumi <em>blush?<em>  
>Oh, yes, this was something Miku was not about to let pass so easily.<p>

Gumi could feel her heart rate quicken once Miku came into contact with her. And that damned heat that was spreading across her face…  
><em>Shit.<em>  
>"Get off of me, Miku," she said sourly, as she pried Miku's fingers from her shirt. "This isn't funny. Now take off that outfit and—"<p>

"Get you in bed?" Miku finished, with a giggle. Without a moment's hesitation, she pressed her forehead against the green haired girl's.

The heat in Gumi's cheeks only intensified, going from a slight discomfort to an intense burning sensation. "Wh-wh-wh—No! Nothing like that!" She snapped, as she suddenly jerked back. Although she was flustered, she was determined to try and regain control of the situation. After all, she hated feeling powerless. And the fact that it was _Miku_ in control really irked Gumi. Her mouth opened as she finally found some words of protest to spit back at the smirking tealette, but Gumi quickly found her breath getting caught in her throat.

Miku had shifted her head, her lips close to Gumi's ear. "Gumi-chan, don't you want to spend some quality time together?" she whispered, relishing that the other girl's breaths were beginning to hitch. "We still have a lot of catching up to do." To her delight, she heard the greenette gulp, and stutter out "uh"s and "ums" while trying to form a coherent sentence. Deciding to press things further, Miku pressed her body against Gumi's. "You'd get what you wanted, you know. Me getting out of this outfit—"

_Slam!_

"Nyahaha! Gumi-chan! It's about time we finally met—Whoa!" The playful tone that was once in Nekomura Iroha's voice vanished in an instant, and was replaced with surprise. One hand was still extended out before her from when she had thrown open the bedroom door, and the other was clutching onto a smaller hand. The small girl attached to Iroha's side stared at Miku and Gumi with wide chocolate eyes, her free hand gripping onto the strap of her red backpack. When she realized that both Gumi and Miku were staring at her in shock, the young girl let out a squeal, and quickly hid herself behind the grinning Iroha.

"I-Iroha-nee-san…" The small girl stuttered, as she peeked out one large eye from behind the older girl.

Iroha continued to give the scarlet faced greenette and the unashamed tealette a catlike smirk. "Well… That's… Wow, Definitely wasn't expecting this!" she laughed. To Gumi's horror, the cat-like girl's free hand clenched into a fist, with the thumb upright.  
>A thumbs up.<br>For _this!_

Gumi shoved Miku away from her, and crossed the room. "It wasn't like that," she explained in a rush. "I was just—Look—"

"Nah, it's okay, Gumi-chan! I get it!" Iroha was having a hard time keeping herself composed as she stared into emerald eyes. "You let Miku-chan wear your orange Vocaloid outfit because you thought it would look good on her. And then, bam! You realized how great she looked and you couldn't keep your paws off of her—"

"NO!" Gumi grabbed Iroha by the shoulders and glared into golden eyes. "No! No, no, no, no, no! That's _not_ what happened! I just woke up, and Miku was in here wearing my clothes! I didn't ask her to put it on or anything! You got that? !"

From behind her, Gumi heard giggling.

"SHUT UP, MIKU!"

"I think Iroha-chan's take on things was pretty accurate, though," Miku said teasingly.

"SHUT UP!"

"Nyahaha! I knew that's what happened!"

Gumi twitched, and began to shake Iroha furiously. "NO! YOU SHUT UP, TOO!"

"But Gumi-chan~"

"Nyaaa! Gumi-chan!"

It was too early in the morning. She had only woken up maybe fifteen minutes ago, and a single word continued to repeat through her mind.  
><em>Kill.<em>

* * *

><p>"And that's what happened," Gumi finished. Arms folded across her chest and a scowl on her face, she leaned back into the patio chair located by the side of the mansion's pool. The red head, pinkette, and brunette sitting across from her returned her scowl with varying expressions.<p>

Miki was nodding slowly, a look of understanding painted across her childish features. With a flick of her hand, her bangs were pushed to one side, and she gave Gumi a weary smile. "That would make sense. I'm not surprised that Miku would want to pull a stunt like that first thing in the morning," she sympathized with the clearly irritated greenette. Ever since Gumi had moved into the mansion, Miki had found herself becoming a sort of tranquilizer for the older, short haired girl. It had become apparent to the residents of the mansion that Gumi found the vast majority of her house mates to be annoying, and the only two who were able to escape any sort of rage were Miki and Luka. But since Luka's popularity with the producers had sky rocketed, it was clear that Miki would have to assume the role of Gumi's personal therapist of sorts. "But you shouldn't have, uhm, flipped out the way you did, Gumi-nee," Miki pointed out. "After all, you had never met Iroha-sempai or Yuki-chan. That wasn't a very good first impression—"

The pony-tailed pinkette let out a laugh, and waved a hand dismissively. "Nyahaha! It's okay, Miki-chan!" Iroha gave Gumi and Miki a toothy grin. "It was fun! I didn't know Gumi-chan would have so much energy and spunk—"

"'Spunk?' Hardly. That was rage, if anything," Gumi corrected sourly.

"—first thing in the morning," Iroha continued, as she ignored the greenette. She raised a pointer finger and winked at the irked Gumi. "People like Gumi-chan are fun! I like her already!"

The short haired girl wasn't sure if she should be pleased to hear that Iroha was completely fine with being shaken back and forth while being on the receiving end of Gumi's rage, or if she should be whole-heartedly annoyed that Iroha seemed to be a complete idiot that was okay with things if she got a good laugh out of it. When the cat like girl let out another "nya" and chuckled once more, Gumi's mind was set.  
>She was definitely going to be annoyed by this overly playful girl.<p>

Sensing that Gumi's patience was wearing thing once more, Miki quickly spoke up. "But—ah, regardless of what happened a few hours ago, it's good to hear that Iroha-sempai is okay with what happened," she said. Her ruby eyes glanced over at the still silent brunette. "And… Is Yuki-chan okay with what happened?"

Both Gumi and Iroha turned their eyes down to the young girl seated between Iroha and Miki. Emerald eyes looked over the small girl, and took in the sight of short brown hair that had been put into little pigtails, the red backpack, red skirt, white blouse, white knee high socks and red shoes. The girl couldn't have been older than 10… Maybe she was 8? But what would a little girl be doing with Iroha, who was a Vocaloid?  
>Gumi's eyes flickered over to look at the pink haired girl who was dressed in black skinny jeans and a pink polo t-shirt.<p>

No. Iroha and Yuki couldn't be related.

"Y-yes, it's okay," Yuki stammered, as she avoided making eye contact with the three older girls.

Miki smiled, and gave Yuki's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Gumi-nee, it may be late for introductions but these two are Vocaloids. Nekomura Iroha," a pause as she gestured at the waving pinkette, "is the Vocaloid for the Sanrio company… Uhm, you know, the company that makes all of the Hello Kitty things?"

_Oh.  
><em>No wonder this girl acted like a damned kitten with too much energy.  
>Iroha was going to be a source of future headaches, that much was obvious to Gumi.<p>

"And this is Kaai Yuki-chan," Miki continued, oblivious to the slightly irked expression on Gumi's face. "The two of them are signed by my branch of the Yamaha Vocaloid Corporation," she explained. "We're all signed under the sub-branch of AH Studios. Like how you and Gakupo-nii- are signed by Internet Co., and Miku-chan, the twins, Luka-nee, Meiko-nee, and Kaito-nii are signed under Crypton."

Gumi nodded slowly as she took in this information.  
>Right. She knew that the Yamaha Vocaloid Corporation had split their offices into different branches to promote 'healthy competition' or something. It didn't really matter to her. She was never really into the world of business—<p>

Wait.  
>Yuki was a <em>what?<em>

"Whoa, wait a second," Gumi held up a hand, halting Miki from delving further into the topic. She glanced back at the shy brunette, and then looked back at Miki and Iroha, directing her question at the pair. "You mean Yuki-chan works with you two at—"

"Yes."  
>"Yuppers!"<p>

The amount of "WTF" that was just thrown at Gumi was almost too much for her to process. This little girl was like them, a talented singer capable of bringing in millions of yen just by opening her mouth and letting loose a few melodies.  
><em>What the hell?<br>_Instead of forming a coherent reply, she simply gave the two elder female Vocaloids of AH Studios a dumbfounded expression…

Which only coaxed giggles from the redhead and the pinkette.  
>Miki was the first to recompose herself and provide Gumi with the explanations necessary to set Gumi's mind at ease. "Yuki-chan is a Vocaloid, too," she explained. "She's extremely talented—"<p>

"She didn't even have to go to one of the auditions like everyone else did!" Iroha interrupted, a proud expression plastered onto her face. "Little Yuki-chan was just picked up by some talent agents from AH Studios. Apparently they wanted to have a young singer—"

"But, we're all pretty young," Miki added. "Yuki-chan is just really talented, and I guess the talent agents wanted to get a hold of her before anyone else found out how well she could sing." The redhead looked down at the young girl and smiled. "She's really an incredible kid."

Gumi could only nod in acknowledgement, for her voice had seemed to escape her.

Miki continued to smile at the still shell-shocked greenette. "But, uhm, the reason that Iroha-sempai and Yuki-chan are here today—"

"Besides to meet you, Gumi-chan," Iroha interrupted.x

"Is because Iroha came to pick me up for a meeting with our producers at AHS," Miki continued, ignoring the elder pinkette. "We have to talk to our producers about the new songs that the two of us will be releasing this coming summer. And Kiyoteru-san isn't able to watch Yuki-chan because he has to be at the meeting, too." She paused when she felt Yuki clutch onto the bottom of her shirt. "And it wouldn't be right to leave little Yuki-chan outside of the meeting or alone at the apartments that the studio had given to us…" Her voice trailed off as she let Gumi realize the implications of her words.

"Oh. You want someone here to babysit Yuki-chan?" Gumi asked, a brow raised as she gave Miki a skeptical look.  
>Was the redhead insane? No one here would be capable of taking care of a little girl and be <em>responsible<em> about it. The only one Gumi would ever leave Yuki with would be Luka, but the busty pinkette was out promoting her latest single. "Look, Miki-chan, Iroha…san. I think it'd be better if you guys just took Yuki-chan with you," Gumi said, her tone blunt. "If you leave Yuki-chan here, who knows what the hell will happen? The twins would probably turn her into a little demon, Kaito-nii will make her an ice cream addict, Meiko-nee would make the girl an alcoholic before the age of 10, and Miku…" There was a moment's hesitation before Gumi continued to speak. "Miku would probably make Yuki-chan here into a clingy brat." She shook her head, and frowned at the elder two of the AHS trio. "It'd be fine if Luka-nee was here, but she's not. You know that, Miki-chan. Luka-nee's out somewhere in the country singing 'Tomato' or something like that."

"'Toeto'," Miki corrected, her smile widening a tad. "She's promoting 'Toeto.'"

"Yeah, whatever. That song. She's still on tour, and can't watch Yuki-chan."

"I know that. But, uhm…"

Gumi blinked a few times and stared at Miki.  
><em>Uhm?<em>

"Maybe we could leave Yuki-chan with you?" The redhead gave Gumi a hopeful look, her ahoge bouncing as she nodded her head several times. "I think you'd be able to watch Yuki-chan!"

The green haired girl felt her eye twitch.

At this, Iroha grinned and leaned towards Gumi. "Yeah! You could watch Yuki-chan for us!" she exclaimed. "I already went around introducing everyone to Yuki-chan—You and Miku-chan were the last to meet her!" The cat like girl wrapped an arm around little Yuki's shoulder as she pulled the smaller girl into her side. "But Yuki-chan here said she liked you the most!"

"…What?" The news had completely blindsided Gumi. "Me? She likes _me?"_

"Y-yes…" Yuki squeaked, as she gave the surprised greenette a shy smile. "You… You're kind of funny… And cool."

Emerald eyes stared at the brunette for a few seconds more before flickering over at a beaming pinkette and smiling red head. "…I think there's something wrong with this girl. She needs to see a psychologist right away—"

"Gumi-nee!" Miki groaned.

"What! It's true!" Gumi huffed, as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her navy blue zip-up hoodie. "She's not in the right state of mind—"

"Can you _please_ watch her?" Miki interrupted, a pleading expression painted across her face. Her eyes were wide as she leaned in closer to Gumi, her lips pursed together and turned down into a pout. "Pretty please, Gumi-nee?"

_No._

"Yeah, yeah, Gumi-chan!" Iroha failed to stifle her snickers. "Watch Yuki-chan for us!"

_Not a chance._

"Do you not like me…?" Yuki's chocolate eyes were wide as she frowned at the green haired girl. It was clear that she was a little upset that Gumi was so insistent on not taking care of Yuki. "I'm sorry… You don't have to watch me…" The brunette gave Gumi a puppy dog pout before she stood up. Her small hands gripped onto the red straps of her backpack, and she sighed.

_Shit._

"Okay, okay, okay," Gumi groaned, and face palmed. "I'll watch Yuki-chan—" Her sentence was interrupted as the three female Vocaloids of AH Studios tackled her into a group hug.

"Thank you, Gumi-chan!"  
>"Nyahaha! I knew you'd end up watching our Yuki-chan!"<br>"R-really?"

With the four of them sprawled out on the concrete surrounding the pool, three of the four girls continued to let out squeals of joy. The fourth stared up at the azure sky, and mentally reprimanded herself.  
>Why the hell was she such a sucker for puppy dog pouts?<p>

* * *

><p><em>Crunch.<em>

Gumi shoved her hands into her hoodie's pockets as she watched the other girl from across the kitchen's island countertop. Emerald eyes took in the sight of the young Vocaloid happily a dipping chocolate chip cookie into a glass of milk before devouring said cookie. A look of absolute content was painted across Yuki's angelic face as she happily chomped away at the cookie. Before her sat a plate piled high with freshly baked cookies, which was placed on top of a folded piece of paper. A small hand reached out for another cookie, but hesitated when chocolate eyes spotted the piece of paper.

"Uhm… Gumi-nee-chan?" Yuki looked at the elder girl hesitantly. "Is it okay for me to eat these?"

"Huh—Oh, yeah, sure," Gumi answered almost dismissively. Her back was to Yuki as she turned to open the door to the refrigerator. "Have as many as you want." Plastic storage containers were unceremoniously shoved out of her away as she searched for her personal supply of her favorite drink.  
>Red Bull.<p>

"But, Gumi-nee-chan… There's a paper here—"

"Ignore it," Gumi said, becoming a little annoyed that she had yet to find her Red Bull.

"But, Gumi-nee-chan. These cookies—"

"Go ahead and eat them."

"But, Gumi-nee-chan—"

"Yuki-chan, it's fine."

"But, Gumi-nee-chan, these cookies are for _you."_

A small sigh of relief escaped the greenette when her fingers came into contact with the small silver and blue can. Slender fingers were quick to open the can, and raised it to eagerly waiting lips. Gumi took a satisfying gulp of the drink before she looked back at Yuki. "I know they're for me. But I don't want them, which is why you can have as many as you want."

Yuki blinked several times. "…I can have…?"

"As many as you want, yeah," Gumi took a seat beside the surprised brunette, and gave the younger girl a lopsided smile. "Don't worry about it, Yuki-chan. I don't care if you eat all of the cookies." Elbows were placed onto the table, and one palm cupped her face while the other swirled the can of Red Bull around in the air. "If you can't finish 'em, just let me know, and I'll help you out."

The elementary aged girl gave Gumi the widest smile she had ever seen. "Ah! Thank you, Onee-chan!" Yuki reached for another cookie dunked it into her glass. "You're the best!"

_Onee-chan…_  
>Although she may have been protesting to the idea of babysitting Yuki, Gumi had to admit… She kind of liked the idea of having a little sister; especially if the younger sister was like Yuki. At home, Gumi had grown up as an only child, having only her cousins and friends to play with her. When she was little, she hadn't minded being an only child. It meant that she wouldn't have to compete with anyone else for her parents' affections. But as she grew older, she noted that her friends had special bonds with their siblings. Bonds that she had never forged for herself… It was only then that she began to feel incredibly lonely when she found herself home alone.<br>Her emerald eyes looked over the jovial Yuki, and Gumi found that she was smiling herself. Perhaps babysitting Yuki for the day would be more enjoyable than she had originally thought—

"Mm… Onee-chan?" Yuki nibbled on a new cookie and gave her adoptive sister a curious look.

Gumi brought the can up to her lips to take another sip, but paused to answer. "Eh? What is it, Yuki-chan?" Cool metal touched her lips, and she tilted the can, satisfied with the cold drink.

"Do you think Miki-nee likes Iroha-nee?"

_PFFTCOUGH._  
>Gumi broke out into a coughing fit, for the energy drink had gone down her windpipe. She began to pound at her chest, trying to dispel the offending fluid from her windpipe.<p>

Panicked, Yuki knelt on the cushion of her high-top chair and began to beat at Gumi's back. "ONEE-CHAN! NO! YOU CAN'T DIE!" she shouted in frenzy, as she began to pound away with both fists.

The elder girl shrugged off Yuki's ballistic assault on her back. "Stop—gack—Okay! OKAY!" Gumi's cheek was pressed against the cool marble countertop, her brilliant emerald eyes closed as she caught her breath.

"Onee-chan?"

The green haired girl opened one eye and frowned at Yuki, who was staring at her with panic in her eyes. "I'm fine, Yuki-chan."  
>Or as close to "fine" as she could be.<br>After all, Yuki did just ask about Miki's crush on Iroha. And although Gumi had never met Iroha until this morning, she was very well aware of Miki's crush on the pink haired girl. The cherry obsessed Miki could be heard in Miku's room, asking the older tealette for advice on how to get someone to like them. Normally, Gumi would avoid listening to things like "dating advice", but she had gone into Miku's room a few times just to hear what Miki had to say about the cat-like singer.

There was a stretch of silence between Gumi and Yuki, and neither was sure how to fill the void appropriately. Rather than speak, the younger of the two decided to help herself to one last cookie.

"Yo… Yuki-chan?"

"Mm?"

"How did you figure out that Miki-chan likes Iroha-san?" Gumi lifted her head up from the counter top, and placed it in her open palm. "Did Miki-chan do something that made you think she likes Iroha-san?"

Yuki nibbled on her cookie as she gave Gumi a thoughtful expression. "Uhm… I don't know," she answered, with a shrug of her shoulders. "Miki-nee makes a different face at Iroha-nee!" The girl smiled a bit, and nodded several times. "She kinda glows when she talks to Iroha-nee!"

"Sorry… What? She… _glows?"_ Gumi repeated, imagining the ahoge on Miki's head lighting up like a glow stick. She shook the thought from her head and stared at Yuki. "Explain."

"Ah—Uhm, well," the younger girl gave the green haired girl a nervous smile. "I don't really know how to explain—"

"I can explain!"

_Shit._  
>Gumi instantly tensed as she felt Hatsune Miku wrap an arm around her shoulders.<p>

"Ah! Gumi-nee, Miku-nee said she can explain—"

"I don't care anymore," Gumi growled, as she got down from the seat. The expression on her face was hostile, and she was not enjoying the fact that the tealette had decided to join their company. Irritated that the peace had been broken, she turned her green eyes to the small brunette. "C'mon, Yu-chii, let's go."

Both Yuki and Miku looked at one another, the younger with a confused expression, the older with a smirk of amusment.

"'Yu-chii?'" The pair said simultaneously, as they directed their attentions back to Gumi.

The greenette stiffened, and her cheeks flushed slightly. Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to form a proper sentence in her head. "Wha—No—Look, you—"

"Yu-chii! You gave Yuki-chan your own nickname for her!" Miku squealed in delight. The tealette hopped down from the chair, and helped Yuki down. "Aw, Gumi-chan! That's so cute!"

"What—No—Shut up! It's not like that, okay?" Gumi snarled, as she folded her arms across her chest. "It's—It's just easier to say 'Yu-chii' instead of saying 'Yuki-chan', that's all!" The fact that Miku was _enjoying_ this moment was only adding to her irritation with the teal haired girl. Especially since Miku was wearing that stupid grin of hers.

_God…_  
>Gumi just wanted to punch that grin off of Miku's face and hope it would never come back.<p>

Instead, she rolled her eyes and began to walk towards the back door of the mansion. "Whatever. C'mon, Yu-chi—Yuki-chan," she corrected herself. "Let's go outside. It's nice out, and there's something I wanna show you—"

"Can I come, too?"

"No."

"But—"

"No."

The glass sliding door was opened, and the greenette stepped outside, closely followed by the small brunette. Before the tealette could step out to join them, Gumi quickly slid the door shut. With a thud, Miku's face was pressed against the glass, her expression that of pain. The corner of Gumi's mouth twitched into a smirk of satisfaction, and she walked away from the door in high spirits.

LINEBREAK

Yuki followed Gumi to one of the back corners of the gated estate. They had gone past the flower gardens and luscious trees, and stopped beside a large maple tree. There, the short haired greenette knelt down, and searched around the patch of grass and bushes surrounding the tree.

"Ah, ano, Onee-chan—Gumi-nee," Yuki stuttered, as she watched the elder girl. "What are you looking for—"

"Shh… Don't be too loud, or you'll scare him."

"…Huh?"

"Ah—Nevermind, I got him."

Confused, Yuki took a few more steps forward, and peered over Gumi's shoulder. Wrapped securely in the older girls arms was a small, light gray kitten, with white paws. It's tiny mouth opened to let out a yawn, and it looked up at Yuki with bright blue eyes. The kitten blinked several times before resting it's head against Gumi's arm.

"A… kitty?" Yuki said slowly, surprised to see that the aggressive Gumi was a cat lover. "Onee-chan, you like cats?"

The green haired girl sat down, her back to the trunk of the tree. A small smile was on her face as she looked up at Yuki sheepishly. "Er—Yeah, something like that," she admitted, as she shifted the kitten to a more comfortable position. "I sorta found him. Or… Yeah, I found him." There was a pause as Gumi made room for Yuki to sit beside her. "I like walking around the grounds, you know, to get away from everyone back at home. And he came through the gated fence, I guess. He just looked so lost…"

Yuki smiled a little bit, and gently ran a hand over the kitten's soft, gray fur. "Aw, Onee-chan! You're a good person!"

Gumi blinked a few times, her pinks becoming slightly tinted pink. She shrugged her shoulders, and gently set the kitten down on her lap. "Nah. I'm not… I just.. Look, you, I'm just looking out for him, okay?" she muttered, as she rolled her eyes.

The brunette giggled, and continued to pet the sleeping kitten. Despite the elder girl's weak protests, Yuki had noted that Gumi was, in fact, a good person. Maybe a bit on the aggressive side, but Gumi did have a good heart. But what she couldn't understand was…

"Ah, Onee-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you not like Miku-nee? She seems to really like you…"

Gumi visibly stiffened, and looked away from the younger girl. "Er… I dunno. She's just.. You know. Annoying sometimes," she answered quietly. "Pisses—Uh… Annoys the heck outta me." With a shrug of her shoulders, she glanced back at the curious chocolate eyes warily. "Why?"

Yuki smiled slightly, and shook her head. "No reason! Just wondering, Onee-chan!" she answered, as she began to dig through her backpack.

The older girl frowned slightly, and shrugged her shoulders. A yawn involuntarily escaped her, and it was then that she realized that the incident with Miku, and then talking to Iroha and Miki, had worn her out. She was tired…

A nap, then…

She glanced at Yuki once more, who was busy doodling in a notebook with some crayons.  
>…<p>

Yeah, a nap should be okay then. Yuki was keeping herself entertained, after all…

* * *

><p>"Nn…"<p>

"Oh, you're awake!"

"Uh, yeah…" Gumi opened her eyes slowly. The sky was ablaze with varying shades of oranges, pinks and purples, and teal.

_Oh.  
><em>Sunset…

Teal?

She blinked a few times, and realized that Miku was grinning down at her.

…

Gumi jumped up in alarm. "HOLY SH—"

"Shh!" Miku shook her head, and pointed beside here, where Yuki lay in the grass. The youngest Vocaloid was curled into a ball like form, with the gray kitten snuggled up against her torso. "You can't be too loud… She's sleep—"

"Yeah, okay, she's sleeping," Gumi whispered back, her tone venomous. "What're you doing here? When I told you "no"—"

"Yuki-chan came and got me," Miku explained, as she gave Gumi a smile. "She saw that you had fallen asleep, and didn't want to wake you up. But, ah, the kitten—"

"What's wrong with him?" the greenette was quick to interrupt, her eyes looking at the young cat in a slight panic.

"Nothing, nothing!" Miku couldn't help but widen her smile at Gumi's reaction. "There's nothing wrong with him… He was just hungry, was all. And Yuki-chan didn't want to wake you up to tell you, so she came back to the mansion and brought the kitten with her. We gave him some food, too… But when I asked where you were, she just led me here."

Gumi frowned slightly. So that's how Miku ended up back here, in this distant corner of the estate's yard. "Oh."

The tealette nodded several times. "But, ah. You had ended up sleeping on your side in the grass. It looked uncomfortable, so I thought it'd just be better if you used my lap as a pillow—"

"_What?" _Warmth instantly spread across the short haired girl's cheeks.

Miku's smile shifted into a smirk. "A lap pillow, Gumi-chan!" she giggled at the flustered expression. "My lap became your pillow. You have a cute sleeping face, by the way." She winked. "Absolutely adorable! I just wanted to pick you up and take you back to my room and—"

Gumi held a hand up. "No, stop. Don't finish that sentence," she muttered. "Don't. Finish—"

"And hug you and—"

"I said stop!" Gumi hissed, even more embarrassed now that the heat in her cheeks only intensified. "Just shut up. Shut up, and quit being annoying! Just.. Let me go back to sleep until it's time for dinner."

Miku blinked a few times, and nodded. "Okay. I can do that."

"Huh—Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh…" Gumi was surprised to see that Miku had been quick to agree.

…

There must be a catch…  
>Gumi stared at Miku, her expression wary of the other girl.<p>

"What? I'm being serious!" Miku smiled, and shook her head. "I won't bother you if you want to go back to sleep."

Still suspicious, Gumi decided to ignore Miku's presence. She laid back down on the patch of grass beside Miku. "Okay then…" Her eyes closed, and she tried to fall back asleep. Beside her, she could hear the twin-tailed girl hum a melody softly. The sound wasn't bothering her… But, it wasn't putting her to sleep, either. Instead, it was only making her think. The more she thought, the more she realized that she liked having Miku around, despite the fact that she was constantly complaining about the teal haired girl. It kept things lively, and Gumi was never bored when Miku was around.

Ew. She was thinking about _Miku…_  
>Gumi snorted, and forced herself to think about other things.<p>

Think about her life since she had first moved into the mansion.

Think about the conversations she's had with the other residents…

"_It sounds like you two were close… I think it's time you forgive Miku,"_ was what Miki had once said to her in one of their earliest conversations.

And at that one sleepover… _"Do you like girls or boys or both?"_  
>…Stupid Rin.<p>

It wasn't like she liked anyone. Right?  
>Besides… She would know if she liked someone, right?<br>But to ask someone what their preference was…

She didn't have a preference…

Gumi squeezed her eyes closed, even tighter than before.

No, things like relationships were stupid.  
>It was stupid to have <em>feelings<em> for someone.

But…

As much as she wanted to believe that, she could feel her heart begin to race. She was lying to herself, and she knew that. The girl did have feelings… But…

For who?

She sighed, and went back to listening to Miku's melody.  
>The simple melody was beginning to put her at ease. She could feel her body relax… It seemed like it was lifting her up, and comforting her.<p>

Wait.  
>She moved?<br>No… Must have been her imagination.

The melody that Miku continued to hum must have been distracting… Distracting, relaxing and comforting.  
>The longer Gumi listened to the melody, the more she began to want more. But more of what?<br>She laid in the grass, contemplating, unaware that as she did so, she was slowly being lulled into a deep sleep.

Miku's melody…  
>So pretty…<br>Words…  
><em>"When I said "I love you", you evaded it. Pretending you didn't hear…"<em>

Oh… Miku was singing now…

* * *

><p>As she began to wake up, she had the feeling that she was being watched. Emerald eyes opened slowly, unfazed to see teal eyes gazing back down at her.<p>

"Miku…"

"Hiya, Gumi-chan,"

"Why're you so close?"

Their noses were nearly touching, and the close proximity was making Gumi hyper aware of what was going on. She could feel her heart begin to race, and the heartbeats began to ring in her ears. The light breeze that was blowing ruffled up Miku's bangs… The effect was kind of cute—…  
><em>Shit.<br>_What was she thinking?

"Eh? Oh. Because. I wanted to kiss you," Miku answered, the smile on her face unwavering.

"Wh-wh-wh—"

"Yup!"

Gumi clenched her teeth together, and narrowed her eyes uneasily at Miku. "That's—No—You can't do that—Don't."

"Hm?"

"No."

"But—"

"No."

"Why—"

"No."

"But, I love you," Miku blinked several times. "I've loved you for a long time, you know. I thought you would have figured that out by now." She may have been laughing, but Gumi saw the pain in those teal eyes.

Oh.  
>That's right… Hadn't Miku told her once that she had liked her back when they were in school together?<p>

"But, I guess you didn't realize, huh?" The tealette continued, with a slight shrug. "That's okay. It's not a big deal or anything. I just wanted you to know that I have feelings for you is all."

Gumi stared into Miku's eyes, and bit down on her bottom lip.  
><em>Shit.<em>  
>What was she supposed to say? A confession? Right after she woke up? She wasn't prepared for this! There wasn't a manual on how to deal with relationships! She had never learned in school what to do when someone, someone who's supposedly one of your best friends, confesses their feelings to you…<p>

"Uh.. Well… Shit, Miku—"

"I mean. You know, it's cool!" Miku interrupted, as she began to lift her head up. "I thought that maybe you still—But, no—Mm?"

The short haired girl knew that her face must have been scarlet, but she didn't care. She pressed one hand against the back of Miku's head, and forced the teal haired girl's face down. The kiss was short, but it was enough to catch Miku off guard. Before Miku could say anything, Gumi stood up, plucked the gray kitten off of the grass, and began to head back to the mansion. "Bring Yu-chii with you, Miku," she called out, before quickening her pace.

Miku looked back at the younger girl, still a little shell-shocked by Gumi's actions. "Ah-… You're awake?"

"You—Onee-chan—" Yuki stuttered, as she sat herself upright. "You two—Are… Uhm..? A couple?"

The twin tailed girl felt her cheeks burst with heat. "Wh—Ah, I don't know—"

"Aw! Onee-chan! And Miku-nee!" Yuki let out a squeal before she threw her arms around Miku. "But—You need to take good care of her, okay? Onee-chan's mean, but she's really nice." She pouted up at Miku, wanting to make sure that the tealette understood this much about her adoptive big sister.

Miku merely smiled, and nodded her head. "Right, right. I understand…"

* * *

><p>"Holy shit, I can't believe I did that," Gumi muttered to the half-sleeping kitten in her arms. "Am I crazy for doing that?" She looked down at the kitten, almost willing him to reply to her question. "…I must be crazy if I'm talking to you…"<p>

She snorted, and pulled the glass sliding door open.

"I mean… It's not like I love her, too…"

Right?

She frowned slightly, and immediately went up to her room.

No. That was impossible...

But...  
>If it was impossible...<br>Why did she kiss Miku?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Ah man… It's been so long since I've updated… I'm really sorry about that!  
>D: I'm not sure what else to say, except I've been busy, and that I'm easily distracted… But I do appreciate that people have still been reading and reviewing my works!<br>Now… I should go update SoL…

_Reviewer Replies:_

_Major Mike Powell III:_ Yo! Thanks for the support! Hahah, I really appreciate it! I'll write your oneshot when I get the chance!

_Sawc:_ Aw! Hahaha I'm glad that you like the story so far! :D Good to see that you're still reading! And you are not a nobody. Don't say that!

_PaperCutVictim: _THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME RAGE WITH YOU! LOL. You're right. Gumi would definitely have kicked your butt if you tried anything with Miki or Miku! XD Thanks for the support! I hope your chapter works out for you! D:

_Mihang:_ I love tsundere Gumi… c: Ah, Kiyoteru and Lily don't really play a major role in this fic. But Kiyoteru makes a cameo appearance in one of my other fics, Slice of Life. And in Slice of Life, Lily's one of the main characters.

_Lupi-san:_ Ah! Good to hear that my works don't suck. xD;; But I figured that a lot of people would have wanted to know more about how Gumi and Miku actually met, since they have skimmed over their initial meeting briefly throughout SoL and Matryoshka. ^^;; Thanks for the support!

_Thyrokio:_ My version of Gumi has some problems trusting people, so you're right about that! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

_DonutYukiro: _asjkfhakejthk Really? I'm one of your favorites? ; w ; That makes me really happy to hear.. er, read.. That's so flattering. Aaaahhh! Thank you so much for your support!

_Illuvian Melody: _I promise, SoL is going to be updated! xD;; Ah. I still need to reply to your PM, too.. OTL I'm so behind on everything… I'm sorry. But thank you for waiting for an update!

_Mei kusari:_ ; w ; Oh. New reader~ Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I really do hope you continue to enjoy my work!

.

And with that being said, I'm done! It's 5:35 AM as I'm typing this little bit.. I should get some sleep.  
>Thank you all for your reviews, and thank you all for reading! I hope I didn't annoy too many of you with my lack of updates…<p>

I'll see you in the next chapter!


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